


Uncharted Lands

by teamJNPR



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, Redemption, Slow Burn, other vocaloids appear too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-08-06 11:08:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 43,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16386722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teamJNPR/pseuds/teamJNPR
Summary: Luka, an ex-dark lord stripped of her powers, must accept the help of young adventurer Miku in order to get back to her home of Mythos. Will she be able to get her powers back and ascend her rightful throne? And how will Miku feel about all of this? Fantasy, eventual Negitoro. Femslash.Updated regularly until I catch up to the chapters I've released on FanFiction.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you want the original authors notes at the beginning! Also, if you're reading this for the first time, hello! I hope you enjoy this fic to where I've gotten so far.
> 
> UPDATE 09/12/2017 – You may notice some minor changes, spelling errors, grammar, tense, that kind of thing. I’ve neatened up six chapters so far and will update the others at a later time.
> 
> AN: Hey all! This is just a short introductory chapter - they should be longer in length as we go on.  
> I just wanted to write some good old MikuxLuka fun, 'cause everyone likes femslash, right? Especially fantasy and femslash. Let me know what you think in reviews!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own vocaloid or any of its characters. Only this story is mine.

'Mythos is fair, but the women are fairer…' sang the bandit. Gakupo, I thought his name was. His voice carried through the caves. He was considered to be quite good among this rag-tag little group I'd joined, but his songs were rarely to my taste. 'Give 'em some gold and-'

'Shut up,' I said, closing my eyes, 'or I will slit your throat with this dagger.' I only got a huff in reply, though he stopped singing. I knew exactly where that song was going, and it suited me ill in this foul mood.

'Bite me,' Gakupo said, laughing at his own joke, 'Gods know I could use a little action-'

'Do you really wish to finish that sentence?' I growled.

Oh, this was all so demeaning. Once upon a time men like him would have trembled at my feet with such words. A woman like me, Luka Megurine, should have been out conquering this pathetic excuse for an island. It was not as though I had not done it before.

Mirren. Even the name sounded weak, let alone the humans who resided there. Where were my fellow elves, masters of magic? The orcs, with their fine blades and armour? Here these humans were, jack of all trades but masters of none. There was absolutely nothing special about any of them. They still called our land Mythos, for gods sake, rather than its rightful name of Nuriel.

I had been, and I was going to be once more, the rightful master of my home. Just when I got my hands on that sorry excuse for a heroine's neck, felt it snap beneath my grip, _that_ would be when my work was complete. But that drew attention to another problem, which was why I was here in the first place.

Gakupo's little joke had been quite on the nose. I was a vampire lord. An elf _and_ a vampire lord. However, that title had recently been made redundant by the sweet heroine of Nuriel, Gumi. Whatever power she called forth that day ruined me, so I was forced to seek cover in this weak group of bandits away from my homeland. It was going to take every ounce of strength I possessed to climb my way back up to the throne.

But as for now…

'There once was a girl, from old Morvane, who-'

It did not take long to silence him when my fist met his face. Truly, these bandits were a pathetic lot, and I was surprised they had not torn themselves apart from the inside sooner. At least when I arrived it appeared to spice things up a little. We had raided the next town over, Willow Vale, to begin with. However, it was not long until these raids fizzled out, since the town guards were much more prepared, and the risks outweighed the gains. And this small obstacle just seemed to stop these measly bandits in their tracks. Where was the violence, the murder these people had a reputation for? It soon dawned on me that I seemed to have picked the only group with morals and scruples. Damn my luck, the gods weren't watching over me lately.

In any case, it seemed like today would pass by rather peacefully…

Which, of course, meant that one of our group had to sound the alarm. At last, it was time to get my hands dirty. I pushed past everyone to get the first glimpse of our attackers at the front of the cave. Or just the one attacker, it seemed. Still, that did not stop the rest of the bandits hanging back to let me deal with the problem. Milk-drinkers.

The girl easily dispatched our watchman as he called for help, slicing his throat with a sword quickly and efficiently. She even managed to avoid getting blood on herself, though a little splattered on to her hair, bright teal twin-tails. She looked upwards, straight at me, and her eyes widened as she took in my attire. Unlike the bandits, I was not clothed in furs but a dress I had saved for myself when I left Nuriel. The thing was ragged and tattered by this point, but I held on to it anyway. Such beauty could not be dismissed so easily, a rather stereotypical penchant amongst us elves.

'You,' the girl said, pointing to me with her shield arm, 'are you a prisoner?'

Ah, now this was interesting. If I said yes, I wondered what the others would do. Maybe they thought it was part of a sick little plan I had thought up. I had plenty of those when we were out plundering. The girl had a sword and I only had my stolen dagger. Well-crafted as it was, it would not go up against her heavy steel armour, unless I could get to that weak spot by her neck.

I could also use this as a chance to get out of these wretched caves. The girl seemed capable enough, especially considering these cowards. They didn't even seem to grasp the concept of strength in numbers.

'Yes, these brigands have been keeping me prisoner! Rescue me!' It was best to play this sort of thing up, heroines at heart could not seem to pass it up. And, of course, the girl's eyes lit up with a fierce fire.

'Of course, my lady. It'll be my pleasure.' She stepped forward, sword at the ready, and charged at the bandits. Once they realised I was going to do nothing, most of them screamed, and ran off into the caves. All except Gakupo, who stood frozen, trying his best to find a speck of courage he did not possess.

He swung his sword, leaving himself wide open against the girl's charge, whimpering slightly as she… went straight past him.

'What are you doing? He's right there!' I said, a frown crossing my face. The girl stopped, and looked at Gakupo. He was frozen to the spot, and I would not be surprised if the man had soiled himself. We never did do much in the way of combat in Willow Vale, now that I thought about it. We were more akin the thieves than real bandits.

'I know, my lady, but… Look at him. I can't kill him,' the girl said, giving him a once-over, nose crinkling up with distaste. Gakupo shivered again.

'But he's my kidnapper. If you will not kill him, then it falls to me,' I said. Her eyes widened again in response, and she clutched her sword.

'I can't let you bloody your hands, my lady. It's not right.' She looked at the purple haired man once more, but her resolve did not appear to strengthen. Oh well, it seemed "my lady" had to do the deed after all. Not that I minded, but I would have to mask my enjoyment if I was to do this. I grasped my dagger, and the girl gently pried the sword from Gakupo's hand as he whimpers. Oh, this was priceless. It really would be hard not to laugh. Of course, I could have had her deal with the rest of the bandits. I did have to pay him back for all the dratted singing. I smoothed my expression into one of nervousness.

'I would not like you to watch. I believe this is something one must do by themselves,' I said, and thankfully the girl nodded.

'I'll deal with the rest,' she said simply, before heading down into the caves. Once I heard the clash of metal upon metal, I turned to Gakupo.

It was difficult to keep the blood from getting on me, but I thought I did quite well, considering I had to keep a hand over his mouth. The girl couldn't know, after all.

When she came back, bloodied and sweaty, I had already taken great care in hiding the body underneath a pile of hay that served as a bed, but now served as a pitiful grave for a pitiful bandit. The girl put a hand on my shoulder, and I had to resist the urge to cut it off. I just stepped aside, instead.

'My name is Miku, by the way. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. It was rude of me.' She bowed her head slightly and I nodded in acknowledgement. I wondered for a moment if I should have said my own name, but realised that a girl like her probably would not have known of me. I got a twinge of annoyance from that, but did not let it show.

'Luka. It is a pleasure to meet you formally,' I said. She beamed at me, a big, sunny grin. I sighed and wondered whether this one would be just as insufferable as the bandits.

Once we were out of the caves, Miku took in my stature fully. I was much taller than her, and out in the light my skin seemed to quail under the sunlight, pale though it was. I could already feel what little strength I still had diminishing under the brutal rays.

'Y-you're an elf! A real, live elf!' Miku shouted as she sheathed her sword, 'I knew you were different than a normal prisoner,' she finished proudly, chin up. I had a feeling she was just saying that to impress me. I decided against telling her I was a vampire, that would be far too much trouble than it was worth.

'Yes, from Nuriel,' I said. She looked blank. 'From Mythos.' Then her face lit up once more. Out of all the humans I had met thus far, this one was by far the easiest to read. She wore her heart on her sleeve. She couldn't have been much of an experienced warrior. 'I have a quest for you, human,' I asked.

She bit her lip as she considered it. Anyone would be a fool to take a quest from someone they didn't even know. Especially when that someone was "rescued" from bandits.

'I accept your quest!'

Well, that figured things then. I was going to be accepting the help of someone who had left their brains out to pasture. Miku didn't even know what the quest was. I said so, and she just shrugged in reply.

'I'm supposed to accept stuff like that,' she replied dutifully, 'since I'm an adventurer now. Being an adventurer and not accepting quests kind of defeats the point a little.'

An adventurer, a true adventurer… It had been a long time since I had encountered one of those. Maybe the gods were looking over me after all, even if this girl seemed a little dim-witted, she was capable with her sword and shield, and that was what mattered. For now, at least.

'Alright then. My quest for you, Miku, is to get me back to Nuriel.' Her mouth dropped open and I could not help but laugh. But to my surprise, she accepted.

'Then,' Miku said, 'I guess we're going to Mythos.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For now, I'll keep the author's notes for when they're explaining anything important. There are a few chapters in the future that have important notes, but this isn't one of them.
> 
> My author's notes are generally just me babbling, lol.

This was so exciting. I couldn’t believe that I finally had a quest, a _real_ quest. Not just the inn-keeper telling me where the next lot of bandits were. Not that those people could really be considered bandits. Common thieves, maybe, but the lot of them together only had as much courage as a slug. Still, I couldn’t let their crimes go unpunished, since at least one of them was far worse than the others, causing havoc all over Willow Vale. We never saw who that was, though.

The bandits had ended up trying to ambush me at the back of the caves, pouring in at me all at once. None of them were seasoned fighters, though, so it had been easy to get rid of them all. I believed once someone attacked me, they were fair game. I didn’t like killing, but if it was my life or theirs, I knew which one I’d rather keep. And it wasn’t like I was an experienced fighter by any means. I had familiarity as a blacksmith, thanks to my father, but I hadn’t actually cleared out that many bandit caves yet. Or done any quests at all, unless I counted that one time I rescued someone’s dog from the river outside the village. Who knew that dog couldn’t swim? And it had gotten my best clothes wet, too.

But now was my chance to show everyone at Willow Vale that I could be a proper adventurer. I would have proof that an actual elf wanted me to help her get home to Mythos. I still was trying to wrap my head around the fact that elves were real, too. Our little village barely had human visitors, let alone elves. I didn’t ask her why she was around this part of Mirren, but that didn’t matter, at least for now.

I pondered whether I should keep her race a secret, since I had no clue how the village would react. I didn’t know any way to cover those tell-tale pointed ears, and anyway, she just looked… different. Her face was more refined, and she stood in proper posture at all times. There was no way she was just an ordinary elf. Even her speech was clipped, practised. It made me feel smaller than I already was as I walked next to her. Those bandits must have had no idea what sort of person they’d stumbled upon – otherwise matters may have been very different indeed.

We needed to go back to the village for supplies. And I’d also have to see whether I could grub a horse off the stables. There was no way I’d last walking all the way to the next town over, let alone the edge of Mirren.

Luka didn’t look too happy about tramping through the mud on the way back to the village. She seemed to have a thoroughly disgruntled look on her face as she picked her way around puddles and dirt, and glared at me with wide eyes as I proceeded to jump my way through everything. Then again, my father did call me a “filthy pig” on more than one occasion when I was little, coming home covered in mud head to toe.

‘So,’ I said, trying to divert her attention elsewhere, ‘we’ll get you some armour at home. I can make you some.’

The look of ice-cold disgust made a pit in my stomach. Luka snorted, rather unladylike.

‘Armour? Magicians do not need _armour_ , thank you very much.’

Okay, an elf and a magician? This was just getting better and better. Maybe she could teach me how to enchant my weapons and armour, though her distaste at the latter was palpable. But if she did have magic, then…

‘Why didn’t you use your powers to escape? I can imagine you’d easily overthrow those bandits.’ As I said it, she glared at me again.

‘Do you not think I would have done that if I could? My powers are… special. The right conditions must be met in order to use them, and even then, they are not to be wasted on such weaklings.’

Okay, that was fair enough. I wondered what kind of powers she held, though. It didn’t appear as though she wanted to tell me, but I’d heard of the different kinds of magic used at the mages guild in Rhinehold. For a power to have special conditions, then it must be quite specific. I’d heard some rather unsavoury rumours about the kind of magic the mages utilised, too.

‘You’re not,’ I said, ‘a necromancer, are you?’ That earned me another glare.

‘No, I am not a necromancer. What use would I have for lesser beings when I am much more powerful? Use your head, human.’

Ouch. She did not seem to have the time for questions, that much was true.

By this point, we had reached Willow Vale. I doubted it looked too impressive to a travelled elf such as Luka, small as it was. The wooden buildings with their old thatch and tiny windows certainly did not live up to the grand cities I’d heard so much about in Mirren, let alone the advanced architecture of the elves I’d read about in storybooks.

But still, I liked it enough to live here for so long, and I was willing to take over the blacksmith position when my father got too old. It was home.

Luka didn’t say anything, instead asking as to where the town shop was. I guided her to it, and we went in.

Inside, the shop smelt musty, and Kiyoteru was half slumped on the desk in the corner, scratching away at his account books. I honestly didn’t know how he kept the place open, but the same could be said for my father’s business. We didn’t make much, but we survived, somehow.

Luka went up to the shop’s main work-surface and rapped on it with her fist, making Kiyoteru jump. Papers scattered everywhere, and as he leapt up he knocked over his chair with a loud clatter.

‘A visitor!’ Kiyoteru said loudly, and as he gathered up his papers from the floor he muttered it again, seemingly in a daze. He carried on talking to himself, putting the papers away on his desk. Luka held a rather unimpressed expression as all of this went on, and let out a cough to catch his attention. ‘Yes, yes – sorry – it’s just that-‘ He cut himself off as he took in the woman standing before him. She did cut quite the striking figure, tall and ethereal, and her skin seemed to glow in the faint daylight that crept in through the small shop windows.

Immediately Luka began rattling off a list of ingredients, most I’d never heard of. Kiyoteru shook his head at most, and each time it earned him a roll of the elf’s eyes. Then I realised.

‘Hang on,’ I said, and Luka paused for a moment without looking at me, ‘I’m going to have to pay for all of this.’ Luka looked down her nose at me.

‘Of course. It is inexpensive. I am sure you will be able to afford it.’

‘But I don’t even know what most of this stuff even is!’

‘It is for alchemical purposes. We will need potions for our trip, or do you not require healing after a battle?’

‘We could just buy potions.’

Luka sneered at me then, and proffered a hand for the gold Kiyoteru required. This was ridiculous, but I didn’t know if she could be swayed. Not by me, that was certain. I begrudgingly offered her the gold, and she took with a smile that could be called sweet if it met her eyes. She couldn’t be used to people questioning her. I added it to my little list of proof that she must be some kind of lady. Or even a princess.

‘We cannot just _buy_ potions. Who knows who made it? They will certainly not be up to my standards. I am not going to risk drinking inferior swill.’

‘Actually…’ Kiyoteru started, ‘some of them are made by me…’ One glare from Luka shut down whatever argument he had ready, and he passed her the ingredients in a small cloth bag. She passed it to me without a word, and I shoved it in my pack amongst the rest of my things. Oh gods, this was embarrassing. I didn’t think I could ever look Kiyoteru in the eyes again. And there was absolutely nothing I could say to Luka that I believed could make her see the sense in this situation and apologise. Well, I could only ever try.

Outside the shop, Luka marched confidently down the wooden steps that lead from the door. She gave me another sweet smile.

‘Oh, I do miss bartering,’ she said.

‘That wasn’t what I’d call bartering.’

‘You are questioning my methods? I got what I needed, and for a much fairer price than you would have been able to get.’ Her words cut like a knife. I’d have to start calling her Luka silver-tongue.

And the worst thing about that whole thing was that I forgot to buy food in all the commotion. Red faced – and leaving a certain elf outside – I went back in to the shop and bought the necessary items off Kiyoteru in silence.

I could never go back there again, ever. It was too embarrassing.

The next thing on the agenda was to tell my father of the quest. I wasn’t sure how well he’d take it, since he was already worried enough each time I went to get rid of the bandits. A trip that took me right across Mirren was completely different, but I couldn’t afford to let Luka down. But first, it was time to lay down some ground rules, especially after the debacle in the shop. I explained to her what we needed to do next, and she seemed fine with it, if a little exasperated.

‘Okay,’ I said, ‘so about talking…’ Was it best to dance around the matter? Or just stop beating around the bush and go for it? I wasn’t sure how receptive she’d be to either idea, and the look on her face certainly pointed to outrage.

‘Do not finish that sentence, human.’

By the gods, her words sounded frightening. Deep and silky, they were laced with venom. Oh, well, it was better to die in battle, as they said. Or a battle of words, in this case.

‘Just, please, don’t say anything if you don’t have to, okay? For me?’

Luka snorted again, and boy, if looks could kill, I’d be one hell of a mutilated corpse. I shut my mouth and led her to my house.

Inside was quiet, the only sounds to be heard was the crackling of the fireplace and the scape of wood on metal as my father stirred the cooking pot. His back was to us, and he didn’t turn around as I came in, probably expecting just me on my own, as was usually the case. He cut a lonely figure there, preparing the stew for our supper. There was a part of me that felt bad about leaving him on his own, but my sense of duty prevailed. As pernickety as she was, I was not about to leave Luka stranded by the wayside.

‘Sit down, supper’ll be ready soon,’ my father said. He turned his head slightly, and his eyes widened as he took in the elf stood beside me. ‘Who’s this, then?’

Once I’d explained, he sat us all down at the table, each with a small bowl of stew.

‘So you’ll be leaving us then?’ my father said quietly. He held my gaze for a long while before finally sighing, realising I was serious. ‘Then so be it.’ He turned to Luka, who was stirring her stew with no actual attempts at eating it. ‘We’ll get you geared up soon enough. I’m not leaving Miku to look after you both.’

‘Actually, dad, Luka’s a magician.’ He raised his eyebrows at me.

‘Ah, we used to have a magician in the village.’ This was news to me. I looked over at my father and his gaze had turned to the past. ‘Lily, her name was. Maybe you could meet up with her at the mage’s guild. Rhinehold is a good stopping point for supplies.’

I forgot that my dad used to be an adventurer once, too. He’d explored Mirren, but had never gone to Mythos. I asked him for help with my map, a beautiful copy of his own he’d made many years ago, and he helped me put markers on it all the way to the port town of Land’s End. This was to be our last destination, where we’d convince a boatman to try and take us across the sea to Mythos. I was still murky on that part, but I decided to trust Luka and just go with the plan.

I spent the time before going to bed trying to improve my armour. Getting rid of all the general wear and tear was a pain, but once I’d finished my armour looked brand new. Pleased with myself, I showed my father, who smiled and said I’d make a real blacksmith yet, before pointing out everything I’d missed or gotten wrong.

Afterwards, Luka and I decided to stay the night, since it was getting so late already. Lay in my bed, watching as the moon climbed high amongst the stars, I felt a sort of peace take hold. There was excitement at the coming quest, yes, but there was also a feeling of contentment. I knew that I had found my true calling, no matter the consequences. This was what I was born to do. I did hope that Luka, nestled in the spare bed beside me, was just as excited as I was, though.

It took a long time until sleep finally came.

* * *

Once we were ready to leave, my pack stuffed full to the brim with ingredients and food, we went to find a horse for our travels. I hadn’t visited the stable master in quite some time, since he was a little ways off from the village. Unfortunately, the horse I had planned to take had broken its leg and gone lame while I had been away, and there were no other horses spare that the stable master thought useful for me. We needed a good war horse, slow but strong, and there were none that fit that description.

None that I could afford, anyway, now all of my money had been spent. We would have to find another bandit cave or something similar before we got to Rhinehold. It was going to be a tough walk. Not that I wasn’t used to it, but Luka, on the other hand… Her face said all I needed to know about this turn of events. She didn’t speak until we were a good twenty minutes away from the village.

‘This is humiliating.’ She tossed her hair behind her back and scowled. ‘What kind of adventurer walks?’

‘A fit one.’ Her expression darkened at my, admittedly terrible, pun.

This was not going to be a fun walk.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Completely ran out of time yesterday to update :c therefore I've changed the schedule to 'regularly.' Vague, but I'm vague. Hopefully I can update it often without college kicking my arse.

This was humiliating. I had already begun to reconsider my initial assessment of the girl. No longer was she competent in my mind. What kind of adventurer did not have a horse? If I had been at my full powers, none of this would have happened. I would not have to walk this mud-ridden land known as Mirren. Instead, I would be lounging on my throne, where I belonged. Dark lords did not _walk_ , and neither did vampires. At least, not in the sunlight. I could already feel myself weakening. Unlike the tales, however, it would not kill me, so I just had to grin and bear it.

However, this mages guild bore some interest. I did wonder what those humans could conjure up, since even among elves not everyone was able to tap into magic. It was an ancient power after all, left to us from the old gods. But that was exactly what Gumi had called upon to drain me of my own powers, those gifted to me by us beings that walked the night.

‘Um.’ The girl interrupted my train of thought. ‘You’re not too mad at me, right?’

In truth, I was not. This was a minor annoyance, one that could be easily rectified once we came close to a city. If it were anything like Nuriel, there would be a stables where we could acquire a horse. Since the girl had no money, we would have to claim it by less savoury means. I did pride myself on my sneaking ability. The girl would simply have to stay behind, clad in that ridiculously loud armour. Her face now was a mixture of concern and trepidation. It was rather refreshing to see that permanent smile wiped off her face for once. Her expression mirrored those who I had once ruled over.

Soon, I thought to myself. It would not take long to get back to my home and regain my powers.

‘Of course I am. What did you think I would say, girl?’ I said eventually. The stricken look on her face was beautiful. Her lip trembled, and I basked in it for a few moments before telling the truth. She beamed, a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

Back to normal, then.

A light drizzle began to fall, and since the area we were traversing was so flat, the wind began to pick up with ease. Lovely. It transformed the plains into a green blur flecked with brown patches of deep mud. In the distance, a river cut through the landscape, and it began to swell against its banks as the downpour increased. The daisies scattered across the grass where beaten down into the ground by the force of the rain.

My dress would be in ruins, though it was already close to it, since the bottom was caked in mud.

‘See what you have done? My dress lies in tatters because of you.’

Miku had the grace to look shamed.

‘I can’t control the rain,’ she said, looking at her feet as she walked.

That was another thing I had noticed. Since we had left the bandit cave, the girl had dropped the “my lady.” Not that I minded too much, since she was only a peasant, and rumour had it they barely knew who their own ruler was, let alone one from another land.

The rain only got worse as we walked, and it became difficult to walk against the rising winds.

‘We’ll have to find a cave and camp there for the night!’ Miku shouted above the storm, though her words were still muffled despite her best efforts. I just nodded, there was no use straining my voice to be heard.

Thankfully, due to the flat nature of the landscape, it was easy to see ahead despite the thick curtain of rain, so it was simple to locate a cave. We went inside, and it went rather far back, so we were shielded against the storm that was steadily getting heavier and heavier. Storms like this were not uncommon in Nuriel in the north, but I had made my keep in the south, where the winters where hot and the summers were hotter. I was unused to this type of cold, dreary weather, and it annoyed me to no end that I was forced to trudge through like some commoner, even if the cold did not affect me.

I sat in silence, and the girl did not dare to pester me, since I made sure to let the anger roll off me in waves. I needed to do something, preferably something of the violent variety. Unfortunately, killing Miku was not an option, so I just had to stare at the cave wall and hope for some unlucky sod to come across us in shelter of the storm.

The hours dragged by, and the girl was half asleep as she rummaged through her bag looking for food. She offered me some of the cured meat she had brought along with her and I refused it, vampires could not eat human food, after all.

‘No, go on, you must be hungry,’ Miku said.

Oh, the irony. I was starving, but it was definitely not for the food she meant.

‘I am not hungry, please, go ahead and eat it yourself.’

‘I can’t eat when you’re not eating, that isn’t fair.’

‘I have an aversion to meat.’

Miku rummaged through her bag again. Persistent brat, why could she not just accept I wasn’t eating and leave it at that? Why did she have to question me all the time?

She finally picked an apple from her bag and rolled it across the cave floor to me. I picked it up. Now what was I supposed to do? The damn girl was staring at me like this was the first meal I’d had in centuries – which was true, really. But what if we did a repeat of this every night? She would get suspicious eventually, and I could not have that.

I stared at the apple, willing it to vanish into nothing, but of course, it didn’t. I refused to take a bite out of it, and the girl’s stare was getting frustrating. It was time for some clever schemes.

‘Look! A deer!’ I said, pointing to the entrance of the cave. The girl turned to look, and as she did so I ripped a chunk out of the apple and threw it as far as I could into the back of the cave before she could turn back around again.

Okay, that was one bite down. What about the rest of the dratted thing?

‘What? Where?’ Miku asked as she turned around to face me.

‘Oh, you must have missed it. Poor you.’

She looked genuinely saddened by the prospect of missing the animal. The girl, by all accounts, must have been very simple when it came to her desires.

She went back to staring at me again, as though she could will me to eat the apple with the power of her eyes. This was, again, another time where I wished I simply could use my powers to get the job done. For a vampire, the power that lay within their eyes was vitally important. Simply by gazing into the victim’s own eyes, we could use our otherworldly magic to make the victim become our thrall. They would be besotted, ready to follow our every instruction. I could have done that to Miku, then I would not have to worry so about her finding out my true nature.

So, instead of turning her into my thrall, I simply offered up conversation as a distraction.

‘Do you worship the same gods as I?’ I asked innocuously, silently putting the apple aside. Thankfully, the girl seemed to lap up the question.

‘You mean the three main ones?’ she said, taking a bite of her salted meat. I nodded. ‘In that case, we must do. Internezzo, Yamina, and Crypto, right?’

‘Good. It would be ridiculous of you humans to worship anyone else.’

Miku huffed out a laugh at my words, though I did not see what was so funny.

‘Yamina, the goddess of life and death,’ Miku intoned. ‘Internezzo the god of the earth and seas, and Crypto the goddess of men.’

‘Men and elves, among others,’ I corrected, and Miku blushed.

‘We still call your land Mythos, remember?’

‘Ah yes. You humans have a lot to learn.’

It was odd, that despite their shortcomings the humans still believed in the gods. Maybe, as they sometimes did in Nuriel, the gods showed themselves to someone worthy. I couldn’t imagine anyone from the humans that would prove themselves worthy enough of that honour, however. We sat in silence again for a while before Miku opened her mouth again.

‘You’ve still not eaten any more of that apple, y’know.’

Damn it all, the girl was more perceptive than she looked. The gods were not in my favour today.

Then we both heard it through the howling winds, the clip-clop of horse hooves... and singing. Miku stood up immediately, hand on her sword. I simply sat and waited. Whoever they were, they were not welcome in my cave.

As they wandered into the entrance, I could see that their clothes were ragged, but both men had a small sack, probably stuffed with gems and coin from their raids. The man on the right looked me up and down, eyes straying for far too long in the wrong places. My hands curled into fists. Yes… this was just what I needed.

The horse stood, a silent watcher to all of this. I supposed we didn’t need to steal a horse after all. The man on the left had his hand on his sword, and with a wide grin, levelled it at Miku. Both men put their sacks down on the ground.

‘You take the one on the left, Miku,’ I said. She looked at me, eyes wide. ‘Go on, I will be fine. I can handle this one.’

She didn’t have time to reply, since the man on the left lunged towards her. She parried, and the two danced their way out of the cave. Perfect.

The other man stepped towards me, sword drawn. Time to act the prisoner again, I thought to myself.

I made my lip tremble, eyes wide and tearing up. His smile grew at my performance. Lecherous bastard. But as he threw himself towards me, the horse whinnied, raising up on its back hooves, distracting him. I whirled away, using that time to pick my dagger up off the floor. Lovely. I hid it behind my back as I went up against the wall, pretending to cry.

‘No running from me now, lass.’ The man said, stepping up in front of me. He really was a horrible thing to behold, and he didn’t smell that great, either. ‘Now then – ack!’

He didn’t have time to finish whatever vile sentence he had conjured up before I thrust my dagger into his gut, once, twice, three times. They really were a simple lot, these humans.

He doubled over, gasping like a fish. I played with him for a moment, holding my hand to his mouth so Miku wouldn’t hear the screams. Then I plunged my dagger into his throat, dragging him all the way into the darkness of the cave. He wouldn’t make the best meal, but he would do. He didn’t resist… much.

It was a shame, really. I did so like prey that squirmed.

Miku arrived, sweaty and covered head to toe in mud just as I had finished my meal.

‘Are you alright?’ she said, rushing towards me. ‘Are you hurt?’

I looked down at myself, and there was a rather lot of blood on me.

‘I… I cut his throat,’ I said, acting timid. I still couldn’t let on that I enjoyed this sort of thing, after all. ‘I do know how, you know. I said I could not always rely on my powers.’

Miku took a deep breath before coming to stare at me face to face. She studied me for a long while, and she seemed to take her assessment of me very seriously. She went over to the horse and shushed it, stroking its muzzle as she thought to herself.

Then, finally, she asked me, ‘Who are you, Luka?’

I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking about how to answer her question. Obviously I could not just tell her the truth, but she deserved to know some of it at least. I realised I could not ask this little slip of a girl to fight for me all the time. Yes, I could defend myself, but that would always get too out of hand. I could not control myself when it came to killing, and the girl simply could not see that in action.

Getting my powers back was paramount, and I hoped this mages guild would hold the answers. But for now, the girl’s question.

I sat down, and gestured for her to come and do the same. She gave the horse one last pat and sat cross-legged in front of me, waiting on my answer.

‘I was… a noble of sorts. Quite high up in the ranks. I suppose you could say I was some sort of princess,’ I almost snorted at my own lie, but managed to hold it in. ‘Our family practised a very particular type of magic. However, though I was very powerful at the time, there was an… incident.’

‘What kind of incident?’ Miku asked, leaning forwards. Good, she appeared to be invested. I decided to pour a little bit of truth into the lie.

‘An evil witch, her name was Gumi, decided to strip me of my powers. I do not know of what dark magic she possessed at that moment, but whatever it was – it worked. Maybe she was jealous of my high standing, I do not know.’

‘So you want to get back to Nuriel so you can get your powers back?’

‘Yes.’

‘And what about your family? Surely they didn’t just abandon you because you had no powers? That’s… That’s just wrong!’

It was time to go back to lying. I could just imagine the look on her face if she learnt that my family had actually been missing for centuries.

‘My family were not kind people. They left me to wander alone, and so I fled here. And that brings us to the present, when you rescued me from those bandits.’

Miku put a hand on my shoulder, and I had to will myself not to flinch away.

‘I couldn’t imagine how awful that must have been for you,’ Miku said. I stayed silent, and thankfully, she took that as sadness rather than the apathy I currently felt. ‘But I have to ask… What kind of magic _did_ you practise?’

I pondered her question for a moment, wondering how to answer it. It was best if there was some truth in it.

‘Blood magic,’ I said. It was only half a lie, since one had to acquire blood to perform their vampiric powers. Best that the girl believed this, instead.

‘Blood magic,’ she repeated, mulling it over in her mind. She didn’t ask for an explanation. Instead, she just nodded. It was fortunate, really, that she was not versed in the ways of magic. Using blood as a vessel for a magician’s powers was looked down upon in Nuriel, one of the few powers that were. Elves put blood magic down on the same level as necromancy – it was something a magician practised by herself, she absolutely did not broadcast it. I could imagine that it would be on a similar standing here in Mirren.

‘Hey, look, the storm’s over,’ Miku said, running to the entrance of the cave. I was rather glad that she was so easily distracted by trivial matters, at that moment. ‘And we have a horse, too.’

‘We also seem to have gained rather a lot of coin,’ I said, wandering over to where the girl stood, peering into the two sacks the dead men had carried and seeing them stuffed full of gold. Miku grinned, and stuffed both into her own bag.

‘Does this make me a bandit now?’ she asked, rifling through the gold.

‘Unless you start singing, no, I do not think it does,’ I said wryly. She giggled in reply.

Throwing her bag over her shoulder, she climbed on to the horse, gesturing for me to follow.

‘You want me to share with you?’ I said, eyes widening. ‘I think not.’

‘Well,’ Miku said, ‘I’m not walking, so you’d better get on if you don’t want to walk.’

That last battle had made her far too arrogant. I assumed I had little choice, however, so I mounted the horse myself. Miku gave it a little encouragement, and the horse started trotting out of the cave.

At least this was better than walking, I thought, as I put my arms around the girl’s small waist.

* * *

Rhinehold was a much shorter journey now that we had a horse. I could spot the city walls further ahead, looming over the plains. The tall spires of the mages guild were also visible, their dark slate roofs foreboding in the blanket of clouds that covered the sky.

‘Not long now, horsie,’ Miku said, patting the horse on its head.

‘Horsie?’ I said, arching an eyebrow.

‘Well, what else can I call him? He’s too cute for plain old “horse.”’

I would not have described the horse as cute. Handsome, maybe, with his black and white piebald coat, he made too fine a specimen to be called “horsie.”

‘Well, you had better think of a name. I simply refuse to call him… that.’

Miku made a little huffing noise, and if I could see her face, I would have sworn she was sticking out her tongue at me. Petulant little brat. We trotted on for a while before she let out a gasp.

‘I know, what about Artax?’

‘Artax?’

‘Y’know, Artax the adventurer?’ Miku said, turning her head to face me. I gave her a blank stare. ‘What? C’mon, every kid used to read about him. Artax and the dragon, Artax and the troll… there was a whole series!’

‘You humans are very strange.’ I said, shaking my head.

‘That’s it, I’m calling him Artax. And I’m so reading you the books if we find them. Deal?’

‘No.’

‘Then it’s settled.’ Miku said, ignoring my last statement.

This was going to be a taxing adventure indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About the names of the gods in this chapter… they’re a terrible pun on Internet co, Yamaha, and Crypton, respectively. They ARE the creators of Vocaloid, after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry for the slow updates here. Busy week!

Rhinehold towered overhead, the city walls a tall barrier I was anxious to break through. This would be my first time visiting a foreign city, and I was practically vibrating in my saddle at the chance to experience something brand new.

Strangely enough, even as a bitter wind pulled at my hair, Luka showed no signs of being cold. I was frozen despite my armour, and yet there was nary a complaint from behind as the night drew in, turning the sky into a lustrous indigo dotted with stars. She hadn’t said a word since the naming of Artax, so I added resistance to cold on my ever growing list of oddities about the elf. I was certain she’d make her voice known if necessary. I wasn’t going to dwell on it now, though, not with the promise of a warm mug of ale and a crackling fire waiting for us at Rhinehold’s inn. Now that it was dark, I could see the glimmer of candlelight from the tall towers of the mage’s guild as they loomed over the city walls.

Directing Artax towards the stables, I ended up tossing the stable hand a few pieces of gold to make sure he would look after the horse properly for the night. Luka merely tutted, probably at what she considered to be over indulgence on Artax’s part. Either that, or she considered it to be a waste of coin.

‘I can’t just let poor Artax wander the plains for the night.’

Fortunately, she didn’t press it, merely crossing her arms with a huff as we walked up to the city gates. It had become a small, probably dangerous, game to myself to discover where Luka’s boundaries lay. I hadn’t really gotten very far with it yet, but I had decided that, although she appeared very handy with her dagger, her bark was worse than her bite. It was just a case of finding out how viciously she could handle her words. I was most definitely not mentioning this game to her face, but the thought softened her often thorny mood, and reassured me during her silent brooding, like now.

Once we were through the city gates, I kept a lookout for the tell-tale sign of an inn. I saw it pretty much straight away, since it was parked right next to the entrance to Rhinehold. It was called the Mage’s Rest, and a couple of drunken men were curled up in the bushes next to it, one holding the other as he was violently ill. Luka curled up her lip in distaste, but held her silence. I was certain that I saw her twitch, however. Wondering how long her silence was going to last.

Though I was eager to explore the city, I was also bone tired, so I reigned in my curiosity and stepped into the inn. Inside was just as I’d imagined it to be, a cheerful fire and a colourful crowd. Luka, still with that look of distaste, glided over to a dark corner away from the noise, so I went over the barwoman.

‘Two rooms, please,’ I said, and she bit her lip.

‘Afraid we’ve only got the one. Busy night and all, as you can see.’

‘Isn’t there anywhere else we could go?’ I asked, and she shook her head. ‘The one room will have to do then,’ I said, giving her the gold. Hopefully, it would have separate beds.

I did think Luka would mind, but there wasn’t any choice in the matter. I shuffled over to the table where she was sat, passing a drinking game in the middle of the room. It looked enjoyable, but I had to break the news to Luka.

‘Well?’ Luka said, as I thudded into the opposite chair.

‘There’s only one room. And this is the only inn,’ I said, and her expression darkened.

‘What kind of city has only one inn? This is ridiculous,’ she said, and her hand tightened on the table. ‘Fetch me a mug of ale.’

That tone was not to be argued with, so I went over and got two mugs while asking the barwoman if she could set up separate baths for the pair of us. I drank in silence, while Luka just watched the crowd. Wishing dearly that I could join them, I was glad when the barwoman let us know that our baths were ready and Luka and I went our separate ways.

As I sprawled out in the warm water, I remembered that I hadn’t actually seen Luka drink the ale. Nor had she eaten more of a bite of that apple. She was a slim woman, but not skin and bones like someone with her eating habits would be. I sighed, sinking further back into the bath. There was no use over thinking these things. It wasn’t like I could just ask her about it, since I very much doubted she would take it well, especially considering the mood she was in today. Oh well, I thought to myself. Maybe one day she would trust me enough to tell me what was up with her. As for now, I would just have to watch her closely and see if she let slip any more clues, and in the long run I would just have to do my utmost to get her to like me. In my mind, we were fast friends already.

But as for Luka, well, I was sure it wouldn’t take long.

* * *

 

Apparently, Luka didn’t enjoy long soaks, since she was already out of the bath and dressed by the time I got back to my room in my own nightclothes. That reminded me of another problem – clothes – or a lack of them. She was still in the same dress as before, though she must have washed off the mud in the bath. And judging from her face, she was none too happy about it, or our room arrangements. Her fists were clenched at her sides, and I knew she was very close to whatever boundaries I had set up for her in my mind.

‘I’m sorry, I thought… Well, that it wouldn’t be…’ I trailed off, since in the middle of the room lay one double bed, rather than the twin beds I had been hoping for.

‘I am borrowing your clothes,’ Luka said. It was a statement, not a question, and I hastily agreed if only to soften her mood.

‘Of course, take what you want.’

‘I was not asking for your permission,’ she said, quickly rifling through my bag for my other nightgown. It was too big for me, so it would fit her perfectly. While she wasn’t looking, I shook my head at her comment and padded over to the bed, eager to get a good night’s rest.

‘What,’ Luka said with an icy cold glare, ‘do you think you are doing?’

‘Going to bed,’ I replied, which was apparently the wrong thing to say.

She closed her eyes for a moment, growing silent before taking a pillow and the top furs off the bed and laying them on the floor. I frowned at her, and she gave me that sweet smile that never quite met her eyes as she waved at the space on the floor.

‘This is where you will be sleeping.’

‘What? Why? That’s not fair!’

‘I have been more than generous in enduring your company, girl. Today has been one mistake after another,’ Luka said, taking a step towards me. ‘I have followed your instruction, now you will do me the courtesy of following mine.’

‘But-‘

Luka took another step towards me, and now she was so close that I had to take a step backwards. We went on like this until my back hit the wall. She was a lot taller than I had realised, standing a good head and shoulders above me. She tilted my chin up with one hand, and placed her other hand beside my head. Letting me stew under her hard gaze for a little while, I felt her presence as it loomed over me, heavy and dark. There seemed to be some hidden strength in her standing, so poignant that I didn’t want to contemplate it, but I suddenly understood how she managed to kill those bandits so easily. The question I had asked her previously lingered in my thoughts… Who was she?

‘Do not argue,’ she said, before moving away to the bed.

My knees felt weak, and I fought back the urge to sniff back tears. What kind of power did she hold? She had mentioned the blood magic, but that had been drained by the witch, Gumi. This was something different, something ancient. I knew that she wasn’t telling me something, but what was it?

Once I was lay in the furs, I couldn’t help myself and sniffed anyway, a couple of tears rolling down my face despite my best efforts to stop them. I was certain I heard a small, muffled chuckle from the bed above me as I closed my eyes for the night.

And here I thought I could make her my friend.

* * *

I was quiet come morning. My back was sore and my mood was worse. We ate breakfast in silence – at least, I ate – before heading out into Rhinehold.

Letting Luka go ahead to the mages guild, since I didn’t really fancy talking to her much, I decided to explore the city while I had the chance. It would be better for both of us to cool off for a while before either of us said something we’d regret. Though, I thought, it was probably only me who was worried about that.

I went over to the market square, and spotted some people walking about in robes. They must have been part of the mage’s guild. The market stalls were set up with brightly coloured awnings. Since the buildings here were all dark stone with slate roofs, the splash of yellows, reds, and blues really livened up the place. Many had taken care to plant climbing roses and honeysuckle to brighten it up further, and a few of the most beautiful houses had archways of flowers adorning their gardens. The market was no different, each stall having their own assortment of pots and vases scattered around them. I bought some clothes for Luka, as she had changed back into the same dress this morning, and had a gander at the weapons stall. I had changed back into my armour, and I looked longingly at one beautifully crafted sword for a while.

Eventually I dragged myself away and went up towards the mage’s guild. It was the oldest looking building in the city, and the pillars and carvings adorning it were formidable, yet elegant. A man was pottering about outside the main doors, dressed in the full robes I’d spotted wandering around the city, so he must have been a student of the guild. He looked up as he heard me approach, his blue hair flopping over his eyes.

‘Here for the guild? A new student, perhaps?’ he said, rubbing his hands together with a smile.

‘Oh no, I’m here for my friend. She must have just gone in, right? She’s an elf.’

‘Yes, yes,’ he nodded. ‘She went off with the Arch-mage, Lily. But I can show you around while you wait, if you’d like?’ he finished, and held out his hand to me. Well, it would give me something to do, at least.

So the woman my father had mentioned the other day had come on to be the Arch-mage of this place? I wondered if I would get to meet her.

The man introduced himself as Kaito, an apprentice of the guild studying elemental magic. When I stepped into the guild’s main hall with him, I let out a gasp.

The arched ceiling stretched up above three floors high, and the wall opposite us was dominated by an enormous stained glass window depicting a magician wielding some kind of energy. Small orbs of magical candlelight danced about above our heads and around the fountain that lay in the middle of the hall. Out of the marble was carved a depiction of the three gods in excruciating detail, and there wasn’t a single scratch marring their features, even though Kaito told me the fountain was as old as the building itself. Suddenly, he got a glimmer in his eyes.

‘Why don’t I enchant that sword for you? It’ll have to be one of the elements I’m currently studying, so while you may not have much of a choice, it’ll be for free, of course,’ Kaito said.

‘Really, you would do that?’ I asked, eyes wide.

‘Of course, consider it practice on my account. Although…’ he said, and ah, there was the catch. ‘You are an adventurer, if I’m not mistaken?’

‘Yes, why?’ I asked, but I was anxious to know whether another quest was coming my way. I was sure Luka wouldn’t be happy about it, but at the moment her feelings weren’t really my concern.

‘I would like to accompany you. I want to practise in real life, away from the confines of the guild.’

Well, that wasn’t what I expected Kaito to say, and part of me wanted to blurt out that of course he could join us. He would be nothing but an asset to us, after all. I thought of Luka, and then I thought of last night.

‘You know what? Another ally would be immensely helpful. You’re hired.’

Kaito gave me a great, beaming smile, before leading me up the stairs with the promise of enchanting my sword.

Enchanting was an interesting yet intense experience. At least, that was how it appeared when Kaito did it. He mumbled something about capturing the essence of the element before placing his hands on my sword and pouring his magic into it. Though he was just an apprentice, I could feel the power from where I was a few paces away. He even had a few beads of sweat rolling down his face, a mask of pure concentration. His face went white after a few moments, but after I stepped forward to pull him away or help in some way, Kaito stood back, his shoulders drooping.

‘There, that should do it,’ he said. ‘Just don’t expect any more magic from me today,’ he finished with a laugh.

‘I didn’t expect it to look so dangerous,’ I said, and he shook his head.

‘It isn’t, not if you know what you’re doing. I started out enchanting weapons, so it’s something I’m familiar with.’

He handed me back my sword, and I held it up. It shimmered a faint, cool blue, so the element must have been ice. Even though the enchantment appeared minimal, I knew my blade was infinitely more deadly than it was before. Holding back my sudden desire to give Kaito a big hug, I sheathed my sword and instead settled for jumping up and down with a squeal of delight. A more bloodthirsty part of me wanted to try it out on something silly, like an apple, but I wasn’t about to waste any of Kaito’s magic.

Instead we headed to the library, which at first appeared small, but after passing through a couple of old mahogany bookshelves I saw it was much bigger, a veritable maze of books. We got lost amongst the shelves as we talked about our favourite books. I thought back to mine and Luka’s conversation about Artax and who I’d named him after, so I asked Kaito if any of the books were here. His eyes lit up.

‘Ah, yes, I remember those! If I recall correctly, they should be around… Here,’ Kaito said, pointing to a set of shelves in the middle of the space we were in. ‘I don’t really know why we have children’s books here – perhaps the librarian enjoys them.’

‘How did you find them so quickly, then?’ I asked playfully. Kaito blushed, and with a cough tried to change the subject.

‘I, um, ahem… Would you look at that?’ he said, pulling out a book at random. While he was flustered and distracted I looked at one of the books I wanted – Artax and the troll – and pocketed it when no one was looking. I would have to read it to Luka at some point, since some experiences could never be missed.

Speaking of the devil… and there she was at the top of a flight of stairs, followed closely by who I presumed was the Arch-mage. Her gaze swept over the library until she spotted Kaito and I, and then her eyes narrowed. The Arch-mage whispered something in her ear and they both came over to us.

‘There you are. I have been looking for you,’ said Luka.

‘Oh, I was-‘ I started, but she cut me off.

‘I do not care for your reasons. I have the information I need, so we must go.’

Information? Did that mean she knew how to get her magic back? I tried to ask, and to tell her that Kaito was coming with us, but she simply glided past me with a glare. I sighed, knowing better than to push the matter here, so Kaito and I followed her out. When we came to the main doors, I could see that Luka’s fists were clenched.

‘You. Why are you following us?’ Luka said, whirling around to face Kaito. He began to say something, but by that point I’d had enough of Luka’s bossiness. I’d never been the equivalent to a doormat, and I was surprised at myself for letting her get this far. Ancient powers or not, I wasn’t going to let this go on, especially with Kaito around.

‘Actually, if you let me finish earlier,’ I said, and now the full force of her glare was on me, ‘you’d know that Kaito is coming with us on our journey. And I won’t take no for an answer.’

‘If you think-‘ she started, but I cut her off.

‘I think he’s my friend and ally, as of now. He’s coming with us, and that’s that.’ I said, and I stalked off with Kaito to the stables outside the city. Before I could pass the main gates, I heard her voice, a poisonous hiss.

‘Remember my words last night, you little fool. You will regret defying me.’

I carried on towards the stables, but couldn’t help a little gulp of fear as I went.


	5. Chapter 5

How dare she defy me? How dare she stand up to me? Even with the lies I had fed her, she knew I was more powerful, had more authority. And yet she had gone behind my back and hired a magician. This could spoil everything. I took a deep breath, staring at the city gates the girl had just stalked through. Stalked through, like she was better than me, that she somehow knew best. I would show her. As soon as I got my powers back, she would pay for going against me.

But more importantly than her insolence was the information that the Lily girl had given me. As soon as I had stepped into the mage’s guild, she had been there, ready to greet me as just another passer-by. But when she took me in, she had realised something, her eyes growing wide.

She had known who I was.

I had merely put a finger to my lips and yet her knees were trembling. Yes, there was someone who respected me, my power, my influence. We had gone to her quarters then, as not to be disturbed.

‘My lady,’ she had muttered, curtseying deeply in front of me and not moving until I told her to stand.

‘Who are you?’ I had asked. ‘You are but a human, yet you know of me.’

‘My parents, they came from Nuriel. They weren’t elves, and eventually they moved here,’ she said, avoiding looking into my eyes. ‘We used to be devout worshippers, my lady, but they lost their way. I left them to come here, to the guild. I thought I could spread the word, but…’

‘These humans, they know not of our homeland,’ I finished. ‘You did well to recognise me, young one.’

A small smile graced her lips then, and I felt a flutter of glee on the inside. It was good to be back to normal, if only for a little while.

‘I would do anything for you, my lady. I’m thrilled to see you well. I had heard rumours-’ she stopped herself as my expression darkened.

‘Do not mention that witch to me, if you know what is good for you.’ I said, and she curtseyed again. ‘As for doing anything… What do you know of vampires?’

And so Lily had told me everything she knew, which wasn’t much. All of it I already knew. What she had told me next, however, was interesting. Apparently, in the city of Lakestead, there was an old magician, named Sachiko, one that had been banned from the mage’s guild before Lily’s time as Arch-mage there. Her speciality? Vampires. And so the next part of my journey had made itself clear.

Which left the problem of this new man. I took another deep breath before heading down to the stables. They looked as if they had been talking together, but quickly separated when they saw me. The pair had also bought themselves another horse. This one was a rich chestnut brown colour, and quite tall. She pawed at the earth beneath her feet before flipping her hair out of her eyes. I decided then that the girl and I would ride this horse, leaving Kaito with Artax. But to my surprise, the girl got on Artax with Kaito, rather than on the chestnut with me.

‘What are you doing?’ I asked her. She didn’t look at me as she muttered her next words.

‘Kaito can’t ride a horse, so he has to ride with me.’

And with that simple exchange, she trotted off, leaving me in the dust. I clenched the reins until I felt certain they would snap, and the horse whickered impatiently until I caught up with them both.

‘You do not even know where we are going. I wish this insolence to be stopped at once,’ I snapped, but the girl simply gave me a sweet little smile, one that I knew all too well.

That devil! She was copying me!

‘How dare you-‘ I started angrily, but the little worm had trotted ahead of me again.

Right, I would show her. A century and a half of experience at horse riding would do me well.

Or that would be so, had the map not been in her grimy little paws.

‘Where is Lakestead?’ I gritted out through a clenched jaw.

‘Oh, so you’re finally telling me what we need to do?’ the girl said, still with that infuriating little grin.

I was going to strangle her, powers or no powers. Then I remembered I actually needed to keep her alive, at least for the moment. Maybe I would take out my anger on the magician, instead. He seemed a maddeningly upbeat sort, one that would get on my nerves rather quickly. I could introduce him to my dagger and have some fun. I sighed, knowing I couldn’t truly carry it through, but the thought comforted me.

Something about the way they were sat together rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was the fact Kaito had his hands wrapped so tightly around Miku’s waist it was a wonder the girl could still breath. I never did like another’s hands on my own possessions.

Did I think of the girl that way? I supposed I did, what with her fighting for me. She was truly my little minion. And no matter what she did, defying me or letting Kaito touch her, she would always belong to me. Once I got my powers back, I could truly make her my thrall. Now that _would_ be interesting. No more arguments, just pure servitude. Ah, yes, that would be lovely.

But I couldn’t figure out why she vexed me so. She was just a child, a human child at that. I briefly recalled my own upbringing, strict and uncompromising. I grew up to be practically perfect, so I doubted the girl had a similar time in her childhood as I did. Her father had certainly seemed a lax sort of man, letting his daughter escort a stranger to lands unknown. I sighed. None of this would matter once I regained my powers. There was no use dwelling on it. If Lily’s information held true, Sachiko was at Lakestead, a city not too far from Rhinehold.

I told the girl the gist of what we were doing, and she nodded, poring over her map before coming to the conclusion that Lakestead would be another day and a half’s ride from here. It still amazed me how small Mirren was, as though it was an island like Nuriel, it was much smaller.

The path to Lakestead led us up a series of hills, before winding down on to flat lands again. It was strange to see the different kinds of flora here. I hadn’t really been paying attention to the soft green hues that flecked the landscape. Miku informed me that it was late spring, so all of the flowers had begun to bloom. It was rather pretty, despite the light drizzle that seemed insistent on coming down every few hours. I hadn’t expected Mirren to be like this when I first arrived. Having expected something closer to Nuriel’s own, warmer, climate, it had come as quite a nasty shock to discover Mirren was nothing like it.

As the night drew in, the rain thankfully stopped, and it turned out to be quite the warm night. And since there was no village in sight, we had to camp outdoors. I let the frustration flow through me like a coursing river, clearly letting my displeasure come off me in waves, but the girl was having none of it. She merely smiled as she lay out the furs for all of us to sleep on.

An idea presented itself to me then, and instead of shouting and stomping my feet at the injustice of it all, I smiled as I took the furs from her, making sure it reached my eyes and appeared genuine.

I nearly laughed when I saw the girl’s face, but managed to hold it in. She had been expecting an outburst, and must have had a retort ready that she now had to bottle up. I had decided I was not going to give her the satisfaction. Clearly, the girl had discovered the best ways to rile me up, and had been doing her utmost to do so ever since the mage’s guild. All I had to do was hold on to the thought of receiving my powers.

It wouldn’t be long now.

Once the girl had recovered from her shock, she just kept her eyes on me the entire time she started to prepare a stew, glancing over at me as she stirred the pot. I closed my eyes, remaining silent as I thought about another way to trick the girl so I could pretend I’d eaten the stew. But now, we had Kaito, and I knew as a magician he would not be the type to be easily tricked. If, and only if, he was a good magician.

I had noticed on the way to this camp that the girl had had her sword enchanted. That must have been the work of Kaito. I would have to look at it closely to see the level of enchantment it really was. That must have been why the girl accepted his company. No favour could ever go unrepaid. Unless I was the one to ask, of course.

‘The stew’s ready,’ Miku said, slopping it out into the little wooden bowls she carried. Really, the girl had everything in that bag of hers. I was surprised she didn’t topple over with the weight of it. ‘I don’t know how it tastes, but… dig in!’

I held my bowl of stew and watched with Miku as Kaito ate. His face said all I needed to know, but he refused to say anything about the matter, and the girl did not seem to realise anything was wrong. Perfect.

‘I am not eating that,’ I said, and Miku stared at me. Drat, I’d forgotten my earlier plan to be well-behaved. Now she would be more insufferable than ever. I would have to play dirty. ‘Look at Kaito. He is certainly not enjoying it.’

‘No!’ he cried, shovelling a large portion of stew into his mouth. He tried not to choke. ‘It’s absolutely fine, Miku, don’t worry about it.’

The girl held her own spoonful of stew to her mouth, and Kaito gazed at her, frown creased in worry as she took a large bite. Kaito watched in horror as the girl merely shrugged and carried on eating the bowl as if nothing was wrong.

‘Well,’ she said, chewing on a particularly gristly chunk of unidentifiable meat, ‘it’s not the best thing I’ve ever cooked, but I’ve certainly made worse.’

‘Worse?’ Kaito said. An unspoken “than this?” was at the edge of lips, but honourably, he held it in.

‘What?’ Miku said, lips trembling, ‘don’t you like it, Kaito?’

If there was truly a better picture of pure devastation in that moment, I was not sure I would be able to find it. It was beautiful. Kaito’s reaction was even more golden.

‘No! I mean… yes, of course I like it. See?’ Kaito said, spooning great amounts of stew into his mouth.

I sighed and closed my eyes. Were these really the two idiots I was to be stuck with for the rest of my journey? I prayed to the gods, hoping dearly they would heed my call. In all the commotion, I went ahead and tipped my stew away when the pair weren’t looking over my way. At least that would solve the problem for tonight.

When we all settled in for the night, I could barely believe I was letting this happen. Sleeping on the ground like cattle was not my idea of comfort, but where else could we have slept? I saw little choice but to put up with it, at least for now. Like always, thoughts of Lakestead and Sachiko gave me hope enough to continue without a complaint.

* * *

 

Lakestead, as it said in the name, was situated around a large lake. There seemed to be some sort of festival going on, as there was bunting stung up on wooden posts around the main path that circled the water. Market stalls were set up underneath, owners hawking their wares at passers-by, and closer to the lake there was all sorts of little games set up to play. Over the entrance to the city was a big banner, painted with the words HARVEST FESTIVAL in childishly big letters. Miku looked at me with wide eyes. That girl could be such a child.

‘Look! What are all these?’ she asked me, running over to the games before I could answer.

Small tables had been set up with backgammon, and chess, but some of the other games must have been native only to Mirren, because I didn’t recognise them. The rest of the space had targets set up for archery, and a couple were playing boules on the other side of the lake. All in all, it seemed like it could be a merry time – if we were here for that.

However, Miku had already disappeared, joining in a game involving kicking a ball. I stalked over to her and dragged her away by the arm.

‘Hey!’ she shouted, struggling against me.

‘We are here to find Sachiko. That is all. No games, no playing,’ I said.

‘We could use a little fun, first,’ said Kaito.

‘No!’

‘Well,’ said Miku, ‘I’m going anyway. Wanna find out how this game works, Kaito?’ she said, pointing to the chess board.

Oh, that little witch, I was going to kill her. But first, I was going to teach her to respect chess.

‘You have to order them like so,’ I said, once I had gotten her to sit down at the board. ‘And this is how each piece moves, pay close attention.’

It had been a long time since I had played the game, let alone taught it. To give the girl credit, she was trying her hardest to follow my instructions, and so the whole thing felt rather relaxing. But despite her ineptitude, she showed promise, occasionally thinking ahead of the move she was currently on. I wondered, if she had come from a city like this, would she have moved up in the ranks to become a renowned battle tactician? Maybe she would have joined the army, if Mirren had one, which I was sure they did/

‘Have you ever thought about joining the army?’ I asked as I took another one of her pieces. She looked dolefully up at me, but those eyes wouldn’t make me relent on my strategy.

‘Me?’ Miku said. Her hands paused over a rook, before going over to move one of her pawns. A silly mistake, and I made her pay for it. She gave a mumbled comment about my meanness, before continuing. ‘No. I don’t think my father would’ve wanted me to.’

‘Even though he let you become an adventurer?’

‘Yeah, but I don’t think he thought anything would come of it, y’know?’ she said, cheering a little as she took one of my pieces with Kaito’s not so subtle guidance.

‘No helping,’ I admonished. He had the grace to look a little guilty.

‘He did let you escort me on my quest, however,’ I said. ‘Surely that was too dangerous, if he wouldn’t let you go in the army?’

‘I didn’t say he wouldn’t let me. He didn’t _want_ me to, but I could’ve persuaded him. I can get my own way,’ she said, crossing her arms and staring at me. The little minx.

‘Not always,’ I said, before slipping her into a checkmate. She gave a half-hearted cry of outrage. Kaito looked at me, an intrigued expression lining his face.

‘Mind if I join you for a game?’ he said, folding himself into the chair that Miku had just vacated. She rolled her eyes and went back to the game with the ball, leaving Kaito and I to it. Good, I could finally show him what I was made of. I would crush him easily.

As it turned out, it became a very intense game. The girl eventually wound her way back to us and began to watch us intently as we each made our successive moves. Backwards, forwards, back, forwards… Strategy after strategy. Kaito played oddly, switching from plan to plan each time I thought I recognised what he was doing. However, I thought I was doing well, until…

‘You… You beat…’ I said, lost for words for the first time in a century. Part of me wanted to upend the table and start over from scratch, but I had to show him grace. That was part of chess, after all. ‘Well done,’ I said shortly. Kaito merely nodded, though I was sure he held the faintest glimmer of a grin. And here I had thought the girl would make a good tactician. It was this Kaito I really needed to watch out for.

All three of us walked down to the edge of the lake. Though it was only spring, many people were paddling their feet in the water, though no one dared to actually go in. I could have, if I had wanted to, what with my resistance to the cold, but I couldn’t arouse suspicion in the pair any more than I already had.

Really, I think this was the most peaceful day I’d had in a very long time. I wondered how it was all going to end, in the long run. Would Miku still be by my side as I ascended the throne? Maybe, but not as she was now. She would have to be my thrall to accept it all. I shook my head.

Soon, my powers would be back. And life as she knew it would be all over.

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

I watched Luka as she got lost in her own thoughts, her eyes travelling to a time I couldn’t see. I didn’t want to disturb her, and it was getting a little boring just sitting at the edge of the lake, so I whipped off my boots and went to the water.

Gods, it was cold. I let out a little shriek, and I could hear a laugh from Kaito behind me. Wanting to splash water on him, I levelled my foot before realising that if any got on Luka the whole of me would be in the lake in an instant. Instead, I settled for poking out my tongue at him.

‘It really is cold,’ I grumbled quietly. ‘How about you join me and see?’

‘You know,’ Kaito said, ‘I think I may be perfectly fine where I am.’

I huffed and went about my paddling, if only to show off to Kaito. Luka didn’t appear to be bothered by all the noise, which was surprising. She must have been very deep into her thoughts. I wondered what she was thinking about.

Over the past couple of days, I had made it my mission to be a defiant as possible in her presence. As I had suspected, there wasn’t much that she could do about it without her powers. I did wonder whether this Sachiko could actually help restore her magic – could magicians actually do that? Making up my mind to ask Kaito about it later, my thoughts wandered back over to the elf. Though I had really only known her for a few days at most, Luka was quickly becoming more of a mystery that I was keen to unravel. There just had to be secrets hidden beneath that cold, icy veneer she wore all the time, ones that I could know if I just convinced her to trust me. I bet in her mind that she trusted me as far as she could throw me.

I thought about it for a little while – did I really trust Luka? While she was sat on the edge of the lake, all wistful and calm looking, it was easy to say yes, of course I did. But then I recalled that night in the inn, with all of that ancient power, the forcefulness behind her words, and the “yes” wavered a little. There was a part of my mind that insisted that this woman was not safe, despite her behaviour over the past couple of days.

If we did get her powers back, what then? Would she even need me? She did seem like the type to drop me like a sack of potatoes if a better opportunity came along, which raised another question – _why_ did I trust Luka? She certainly hadn’t done anything to make her trust me, I had just blindly followed along and had thought we could become friends. I still held that belief, but I had put a little more thought behind it.

Realising my feet had gone numb, I waded back out to the shore and dried off, slipping my boots back on.

‘You two are unusually quiet,’ Kaito said, eyebrow raised. Luka and I shot him a look. She sighed, and I translated it in my mind to mean “you have interrupted my thoughts, but I will let you live a little longer.”

‘I was just thinking,’ I said, furrowing my brow as I tried to conjure up a lie. I wasn’t about to delve into my thoughts concerning Luka here. ‘Will the celebrations carry on into the night? We should get rooms at the inn before it gets completely dark,’ I finished, glancing up at the sky. It was dimming even now, taking on a rosy pink glow.

Luka stared at me, her eyes narrowing as her lips curved up into a sly smile. I knew she was thinking about Rhinehold. Evil. She must have been evil to gain so much pleasure from my suffering. I scowled back at her and she laughed. Yes, most definitely evil. Smiling grimly to myself, I made up my mind to annoy her as much as possible in the coming days.

* * *

 

The inn, called The Swan, was even more crowded than the one at Rhinehold, but instead of sitting in a dark corner with Luka, I joined Kaito at the bar as we got ourselves a mug of ale each. There were only two rooms available, but thankfully the room Luka and I would be staying in had two beds. Instead of casting my thoughts back to Rhinehold, I decided to question Kaito.

‘So tell me,’ I said to Kaito. ‘What made you want to leave the mage’s guild?’

‘Oh, plenty of reasons,’ he said, but he didn’t look at me, instead focusing on his drink. ‘The main one being that I was bored. I wanted true experience, but I needed someone to go with.’

‘Why not one of the other apprentices? Surely they would want experience too?’

‘Them?’ Kaito scoffed. ‘They were cowards. They were much too afraid to even face the possibility of danger.’

‘All of them?’ I asked, wrinkling my nose in confusion. ‘One of them must have been like you.’

‘I thought so too, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be,’ Kaito said, swigging his ale.

I shrugged and went back to my drink. There was a story there he wasn’t willing to share, but I wasn’t about to press it.

Suddenly, a big hand clapped on to my back, and I turned around to see that the man was clasping Kaito as well.

‘You two wouldn’t happen to want to join us, now would you?’ the man said, grinning at us both. Kaito and I looked at each other for a moment, debating it. I also sneaked a sideways glance to where Luka was sat. I thought I saw her twitch a little, and almost backed out until I remembered my mission to annoy her.

‘That would be our pleasure,’ I said brightly, grabbing my drink and heading over to the man’s table, Kaito in tow.

‘Excellent,’ the man said, once we’d gotten ourselves seated. ‘My name is Al, this is Leon and Lola, and that’s Ann.’ The trio waved at us.

All of them were wearing their full armour, like I was, but theirs was of thick leather rather than steel.

Though I hadn’t had much experience with drinking, I thought now was a good time to start. I knew Luka was probably going up the wall with just the idea of me consuming alcohol, so to aggravate her further, I announced that we should play a drinking game.

‘Ah,’ said Ann. ‘Nothing like a game to bring people closer together, right, Leon?’ She nudged him, and he tipped his head towards her, sporting a rather roguish grin.

‘Of course,’ said Leon. ‘But we’re going to need something stronger than ale.’

My eyes widened as Al laughed, before ordering a round of The Swan’s “special brew,” whatever that meant. Kaito leaned towards me.

‘Are you sure this is a good idea? I’m all for making friends, Miku, but this…’

‘Oh, we’ll be fine. I’m sure it’s just another kind of ale.’

It certainly didn’t look like ale when it arrived. The innkeeper smirked at the pair of us as he brought it to the table. There was… something… floating in it, and it smelled strong enough to wake someone from the dead. Lola laughed when she saw me staring dubiously into the glass. Kaito was pulling a similar face.

‘Don’t you two be wasting good drink, now,’ Lola said.

‘You’re not up to the job, little miss?’ Al said, grinning at the rest of the inn, who had suddenly come a lot closer to our table.

‘Miku, this really isn’t the best idea,’ Kaito said, his face creased in worry.

I stared down at the mug, then sneaked another glance towards Luka. She was staring right at me, fist clenched on the table. She tilted her chin up and gave a sharp, perfunctory shake of her head. I grinned back, and her fist tightened even more, but she didn’t move.

‘I can do it,’ I said, bracing myself. The inn grew silent, watching me with bated breath. Right, here went nothing…

It tasted like nothing I’d ever drank before. There was a faint taste of what used to be apple behind all of the alcohol, but that was quickly masked by the burning trail it left down my throat as I tried my best to drain the glass. By sheer determination, I managed to do it, and slammed the mug down on to the table. The inn cheered, and I could faintly feel Kaito patting me on the back. I felt a bubble of burning pain at the back of my throat, and it felt like belching fire. The inn cheered some more, and Luka looked disgusted. Al grinned at me, raising his own mug in appreciation of my efforts.

‘See? I knew I chose a great drinking buddy,’ he said, and the other three laughed along with him. ‘So, how about you, my good man?’ he asked, turning to Kaito.

‘I’m afraid,’ Kaito said, ‘that I’m not as such a good sport.’ Al laughed again as he clapped Kaito on the back.

‘What, you would lose to a woman?’ he said

‘Hey!’ Lola and I cried, but Al merely shook his head.

‘Yes, I would. Gracefully.’ Kaito said, before pushing his mug away. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me.’

Al watched him as he left, face twisting into an angry snarl, but he so quickly put a mask over it I wasn’t sure whether I’d seen it at all.

The night grew on, more rounds of the innkeeper’s “special brew” being passed around the table, until I wasn’t even sure where I was anymore. The room was blurry as I got to my feet in preparation to excuse myself to bed, and as I wobbled away towards the stairs I could hear the four laughing to themselves as I left.

It took a long time to get up the stairs, and I was gripping the banister for dear life as I climbed up what felt like the world’s tallest mountain. Once I got to the top, however, Luka was there.

‘…lo Luka. Ish this our… uh… room?’

She gripped my arm so tightly that if I hadn’t been wearing my armour her nails would’ve drew blood.

‘You little fool,’ she said, but her words were faint to my ears. She dragged me towards our room and pushed me towards the bed. I staggered and almost fell over, and I heard a snort of derision from behind me. ‘Do I have to change you like a child?’

I groaned, and I heard a long suffering sigh, and a muttered “you will pay for this.” I tried to help her by pointing out the correct fastenings, but just succeeded in flailing my arms around.

Once I was just in my underclothes, Luka gave me another push and I fell on to my bed. With that, I fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up in the middle of the night with the desperate need to relieve myself. The door was slightly ajar, and candlelight from the corridor cast a soft glow across the wooden floor.

I lay there for a long time, debating with myself as to whether I could lie there for just a minute longer, and then I heard a creak of the floorboards.

Luka was up in a second, her hand grasping the dagger on her nightstand as the shadow crept closer to our room.

When they reached our door, the shadow actually sneaked in, and in the faint light I could see that it was Al. What was he doing here?

I heard a whispered “damn” from him as Luka stood up and darted towards him. He was still wearing his own armour, however, and the blade glanced off him like it was nothing. He grabbed Luka’s arm and threw her against the wall with a hideous crack. She hissed as her dagger clattered to the floor. Al picked it up while she was still stunned.

As I was caught up in the bedclothes, I tried to call for help, but Al was on me in a second, gloved hand on my mouth.

‘I didn’t expect there to be two of you,’ he whispered harshly. ‘Now if you’ll be quiet, I can take your things and no one has to die.’

I tried biting through the glove, but his hand was fastened to tightly around my face I could barely breath.

I could hear Luka picking herself up with a low growl, and she leapt at Al. It was like a mouse fighting a lion, their difference in stature was so wide. He flung himself back to be rid of her, and I used that chance to pull away and scream for help. Unfortunately, even I could hear the noise of the inn still raging on underneath my feet.

‘Nobody’s coming, missy,’ he said, walking towards me. ‘The innkeeper and I have a deal, you see-‘ He was interrupted by Luka pounding his back, but it made no difference. Al pulled me up from the bed with his free hand, half turning to face Luka with his other. He punched her clean in the face, and she crumpled to the floor with a soft moan.

I struggled in his grip, but I was still too drunk. Everything was still blurry, and the room was spinning. He hit me in the stomach, and I nearly threw up all over him.

‘Pretty little thing, aren’t you?’

I moaned, trying to free myself from his grip, kicking and punching, but he was built like a brick wall.

Suddenly the door banged wide open, and I saw a flash of blue hair.

Kaito!

He stepped over Luka and Al dropped me as he turned to face him. I dropped to the bed. And then Kaito did something strange. He hugged Al.

Al beat at his back, but Kaito only seemed to squeeze him tighter, muttering something all the while. Then Al gasped, trying desperately to struggle away from Kaito’s grasp, but his movements seemed slow, sluggish. Kaito’s face was towards me, a mask of concentration, and his hands appeared to be glowing.

Al’s struggles grew weaker and weaker, until finally, he was stock still.

Kaito let go, and Al fell backwards on to the floor, completely immobile.

‘Come on,’ said Kaito, ‘I don’t know how long this lasts.’

Luka groaned, stirring from the floor. Kaito offered her a hand, but she pushed it away, spitting a gob of blood on to the floorboards.

‘Bastard,’ she muttered.

Kaito shook his head, but offered me a hand as well. I took it, wobbling to my feet.

‘Letsh go,’ I mumbled, but Luka shook her head.

‘Slit his throat. Use him as an example.’

‘And what will the innkeeper say to that?’ Kaito said, and Luka’s expression darkened.

‘According to this man, the innkeeper played a part in this as well. I suppose they would have shared our gold amongst themselves.’

Kaito looked troubled for a moment, running his hands through his hair as he looked down at Al, who was still immobile on the floor.

‘I’m afraid I can’t kill this man,’ Kaito said. ‘And I don’t wish to burden him on you.’

‘Burden?’ Luka scoffed. Her eyes lingered on Al for a moment, and she looked almost… hungry. ‘I can assure you that is not the case, Kaito,’ she finished quietly, almost as if the pair of us weren’t supposed to hear.

Kaito narrowed his eyes at her then, and even in my drunken state I could feel the tension rise in the room.

‘Well?’ Luka said. ‘We must make a decision, otherwise the rest of them will be up here to investigate.’

‘Fine,’ Kaito said, looking pained. ‘If you must, tip him out of the window into the bushes. As for me, I’ll stay in here with you two for the rest of the night and keep watch.’

Luka nodded, and she and Kaito dragged Al’s body away.

I thumped back on to the bed, legs giving out what little strength they carried. What a mess. My thoughts were swirling around aimlessly in my head, and my tongue felt heavy inside my mouth, where everything tasted awful. Why had I been so stupid? Had I not been so preoccupied with Luka I would have seen this plan coming from a mile away, or I would’ve liked to think so.

I closed my eyes, thinking how lucky I was that Kaito had retired early to his room. If not… I shuddered to think of what might have happened.

Kaito returned a few minutes afterwards, and Luka came in not ten minutes later. She got settled into bed once more, and I wondered how she found it so easy to sleep after killing someone like that. I’d never killed like that before, only in battle, so the feeling was foreign to me.

Kaito pulled some of the furs out of my bag and laid them on the floor, crossing his legs and placing his palms face up on his knees. I was going to ask him what he was doing, but the comfort of the bed and my own tiredness carried me off to sleep before I could even think about opening my mouth,

The last thought that entered my mind before I drifted away was that I was never going to get drunk again.

* * *

Thankfully, no one discovered Al in our hastily made hiding spot, as later that night when the inn had calmed down and everyone gone to bed, Luka had sneaked out and hid him a little better. But I wasn’t about to get caught up feeling guilty – I had my own problems to deal with.

‘Gods no, not again,’ I said, leaning over once more.

We had since vacated the inn, leaving a very surprised looking innkeeper, and my stomach was not enjoying the movement. Unfortunately for some poor person, their garden had become the place to empty the contents of my stomach.

My stomach heaved again, and I thought of the other three Al had been with. They hadn’t been downstairs in the inn that morning, so maybe they were holed up in a bandit cave somewhere. Or they were sleeping peacefully at the inn still, unaware that their leader was dead. Hopefully we would be long gone before they came after us. Which begged the question…

‘Sachiko?’ I managed, before I retched again. Luka looked away in disgust as she answered me.

‘You are quite right, for once. We need to hurry up and find a clue as to where she might be.’

‘Unfortunately,’ Kaito said as he rubbed my back, ‘the inn is out of the question. Maybe one of the shopkeepers can tell us where someone like her might be hiding.’

‘Let’s hope,’ I said in a watery voice, ‘this won’t get us into too much trouble.’

Once my stomach had settled itself, we went to the apothecary shop, hoping that a “real magician,” as Luka put it would’ve have been spotted there. Kaito looked a little miffed at her words.

‘Any magician,’ said Luka, ‘should always have ingredients and potions at the ready.’

‘You’ve got the materials here,’ I said, shaking my bag. ‘Couldn’t you have made me something for this morning? An anti-sickness potion?’

‘For you?’ Luka snorted. ‘There would have been little point.’

Ouch.

Inside the shop smelt strange, and I could see Luka relaxing a little as she stepped inside and took in her surroundings. Perhaps this was familiar to her, as she immediately starting looking around and picking up various ingredients and potions with a small smile on her face.

‘What’re you here for?’ said the shopkeeper, in a friendly voice. She was quite old, and was leaning on the countertop. ‘We’ve got just about everything you could ever need in here.’

‘Information, actually,’ Kaito said, once he saw that Luka was distracted. Probably better that she didn’t speak, anyway, and I still didn’t trust my stomach enough to speak for long.

‘Oh, really?’ the shopkeeper said. She pulled away from the worktop and raised an eyebrow. ‘And what kind of information would that be, hmm?’

‘Nothing serious,’ said Kaito, quickly, and the woman relaxed a little. ‘Just about a fellow magician, that’s all. She goes by the name of Sachiko.’

The woman tensed again, and I knew from her mulish expression she knew something, but wasn’t about to give it up easily. She eyed my bag, and then I knew she was after gold – and a lot of it.

‘C’mon Kaito, let’s go. We aren’t going to find any answers here,’ I said.

Then suddenly the woman spoke.

‘Hey, you! Get out from back there!’

Luka seemed to have wandered into the back of the shop without any of us realising, and she had an armful of unrecognisable ingredients too.

‘Not many would dare to keep these together,’ Luka said, and the woman looked confused until she laid down the ingredients on the worktop one by one. Her face drained of colour.

‘How did you-‘

‘Any skilled alchemist would recognise these.’

‘The guards won’t know-‘

‘Oh, will they not?’ Luka interrupted. ‘If I go into the back, will I not find the potions that this creates? Surely they will recognise that. Or have you been supplying them?’

The woman looked defeated, and Luka triumphant. I asked her what was going on, and she smiled, a true, genuine smile. I wondered if that was the first time I’d seen her do that.

‘These are ingredients for a very potent drug. Infamous in Nuriel, but seems to be quite new here. I have not seen any of the tell-tale signs of its usage.’ She turned to the woman. ‘Now, what were you saying about Sachiko?’

* * *

It turned out that Sachiko was holed up in a cave near here, only occasionally coming out of her hiding spot for supplies. She’d left everyone with strict orders not to give away her position, but with Luka’s skills we had managed to wheedle out the required information at the apothecary shop. When we’d asked the woman at the shop why Sachiko was stowed away there, she’d simply replied that the magician was a recluse, and always had been ever since she’d first arrived in the city.

So to this cave it was! Thankfully, the woman had marked down its entrance on my map, since she often left supplies out there for Sachiko so the magician didn’t have to come out to the city.

I was glad to be out of Lakestead, with its evil “special brew” and its less than good patrons. The circumstances last night had wiped out any of the fun I’d had earlier yesterday with the chess match against Luka. My stomach was still a little tender, too.

One thing I did notice as we rode to the caves was that Luka kept giving me funny looks. I was still riding Artax with Kaito, who had his arms around me in a death grip, still unused to riding a horse properly. As to why she kept giving me those looks, I was unsure, but I wasn’t about to ask. I was sure I was already in her bad books because of last night, so I wasn’t about to push my already meagre luck. Right now, we had to focus on finding Sachiko.

The cave was a little tricky to find, hidden amongst the hills that dominated the east of Lakestead, but eventually we discovered an unassuming little entrance.

The air around the place felt… wrong. But after all that had happened yesterday, I wasn’t about to back down.

‘Here we go,’ I muttered, dismounting Artax and helping Kaito down.

I took a deep breath, and we all stepped inside.

 


	7. Chapter 7

_Whatever happens, you cannot fail… You must never accept defeat…_

My mother’s voice echoes in my head as we near the cave. So close. We were so close. And yet somehow, something felt wrong. There was a tension in the air, and as we stepped into the cave, that feeling made itself clear.

We had been followed.

I cursed to myself, knowing that if I had had my powers I would have known almost immediately of their presence. The girl wouldn’t have noticed, what with the great, cumbersome armour she had on, and the constant clanking it made would have distracted the magician.

It was a mistake that set off my senses, the simple snap of a twig. I warned the girl and the magician, and the pair turned to face the followers.

It was the three from the inn, the ones who had been with Al. They had obviously discovered his corpse not long after we had left the inn, and now they were seeking revenge. They melted out from behind the tree they had been using as coverage, and the girl levelled her sword at them while the magician prepared his magic, his face smoothing into a mask of concentration.

‘Go,’ the girl said, not taking her eyes off the three. ‘Talk to Sachiko. We’ll deal with them.’ It would be three against two, but I was sure that the three were probably still hungover from the night before, whereas Miku had recovered fairly quickly. It would also give me a chance to speak to Sachiko alone, which would help me keep my secrets safe from the girl.

I backed away into the cave, leaving the clash of metal and magic behind. The place was dark, dank and smelly, with moss and mushrooms sprouting from every crease and crack in the cave walls. I had no idea as to why this magician should choose to live here. After all, any self-respecting artisan of the craft should live in a place that suited their abilities. Perhaps she really was as much of a recluse as the shopkeeper said.

The cave wound further and further into the bowels of the earth, and I was starting to get suspicious, having not seen the tell-tale signs of any traps. Not, without my powers, that I would have been able to spot them as easily as I once would have. The only signs of magic were the orbs of magelight cast at various intervals, bobbing steadily along the ceiling and giving the place an ethereal glow. Suddenly, a voice echoed around me, bouncing off the walls.

‘Who walks into my home?’ the voice, which I assumed was Sachiko, said. It was deep, strident, cutting into my ears. It was a good thing that I was not claustrophobic, as Sachiko’s voice and the walls of the cave were very close.

‘I have come seeking your knowledge on vampires,’ I said. Best to sound humble, as she could set off any hidden traps at any time. There was also a chance, as an expert on vampires she was supposed to be, that she would know who I was, but would that knowledge help or hinder me? Magicians, by nature, were not easy beings to deal with, and we were an untrusting lot. This Sachiko would be no different.

‘Who told you of my presence here?’ Sachiko said. I told her, and she was quiet for a little moment. ‘I will deal with her when the time arrives. Come, follow the lights.’

I stepped forwards cautiously, but nothing else happened, and Sachiko was silent. So she was not averse to killing, if her words were true. I wondered if she trusted in her own powers enough to not rely on any type of traps. That would be troublesome, but I merely continued on. There was little point in worrying.

Eventually I saw the light of candles, positioned outside a wooden door embedded into the rock. It had a slit near the top. I knocked, and the slit slid open, and a pair of pale brown eyes stared at me for a long while. I saw her nod, and the door opened.

‘You. I can trust you,’ Sachiko said.

‘That is a dangerous assumption to make,’ I said, but she shook her head.

‘I could sense it straight away. You have many hidden secrets, my friend. Vampirism being the least of them. But it appears your strength has been sealed away’

I smiled then, finally pleased that I was able to meet a true magician of good calibre. Poor Kaito was still just an apprentice, which was lucky for me, really. My secrets could not be betrayed to the girl, after all.

‘I need to know,’ I said. ‘How exactly do I get my powers back?’

Sachiko sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, and guided me through the door. Inside was warmer, with a great many candles burning away despite the stubborn damp. She led me to a table, and I sat down on one of the rickety chairs.

‘For your magic, I don’t know. For the powers lent to you by the night, I do know, but it could be difficult.’

‘I was expecting that. Tell me anyway,’ I said. This was it. Whatever Gumi had done, whatever the gods had done, this was finally the time to undo all of that.

‘This has never really been done before, you realise,’ Sachiko said. ‘I’m relying on years of knowledge, but it still comes down to guesswork.’

‘Yes, yes, I know that.’

‘What you need,’ Sachiko said, ‘is the blood of your sire. You will need to drain them completely.’

‘The blood… of my sire?’ I said, faintly. How could this be? ‘But… I was born a vampire.’

Sachiko gave me a long, hard look.

‘Then you know what you’ll need to do.’

I shook my head, and stood up. I had to leave, get out of here, think. I slammed open the door and came face to face with Kaito.

‘You!’ I hissed. ‘Where is the girl?’

‘Standing guard at the entrance,’ Kaito said. He looked angry. ‘I heard all of what you said. I knew there was something not right with you when we met. Now I know.’

‘You are playing a _very_ dangerous game. Watch your next words carefully,’ I said. How could I have let this happen? So wrapped up in my own thoughts and Sachiko’s words that I had been completely oblivious to the outside world. He had to know what I was capable of if he betrayed my secrets.

‘Why should I not tell her?’ Kaito said, crossing his arms.

‘I will kill you. Maybe not now, but once I regain my powers I _will_ hunt you down and kill you,’ I hissed. ‘Actually, that would be far too simple. Perhaps I shall keep you alive for… what, a few months? Years?’

‘Empty threats, Luka,’ Kaito said. ‘I know what you have to do to get your powers back.’

I growled at him, and he looked vaguely unimpressed. Damn him! Why couldn’t things be simple, back the way they used to be? It was time for another act, since this one wasn’t working.

‘Please,’ I said quietly. ‘Please, don’t tell her.’ This would be demeaning, but I figured that it would be the only act that worked against the magician. Kaito’s features softened, but only slightly

‘Why shouldn’t I? She deserves to know.’

‘Because then I’ll be stuck!’ I pleaded. ‘Where am I supposed to go? I cannot simply go home the way I am now. I _need_ Miku.’ Ugh, this really was depreciating, but it appeared to be working, as the magician finally sighed, letting his arms drop by his sides.

‘I’ll give you a week. A week to tell her, and that’s all.’

I wasn’t about to thank him, but he seemed to be expecting it, so I muttered my appreciation while looking at the cave wall. The magician seemed satisfied, finally, and we left Sachiko’s lair to meet up with the girl together.

That night, as we set up camp with the horses, I mulled over what Sachiko had said to me.

The blood of my sire… That would be my parents. I closed my eyes. To drain their blood… I needed – _needed –_ to do so to regain my powers, my dignity. I could not, would not fail, and yet the task appeared insurmountable. It had been a long time since I had faced something like this.

Our next goal, if I really was to do this, would be to go back to Nuriel, the quest I had officially set the girl all that time ago. But could I really find my parents, after all this time? Would they even let themselves be found? I had searched for them, many decades after I had left their care, but they had simply vanished into the ether. Maybe, if I found clue from another vampire of stature… It would be risky, extremely dangerous, and possibly lead nowhere, but I could try.

‘So how are we going to get your powers back, then?’ the girl said, munching on a chicken leg.

‘I need to… find my parents,’ I said. It was only half a lie, after all. The magician narrowed his eyes at me from across the fire. ‘They’re in Nuriel, but I don’t know where.’

‘Hmm,’ the girl nodded, mouth full. ‘Any clue as to how we could find them, then?’

I sat back, mulling over my plan. I would have to lie, say to the girl that we were finding a necromancer’s cave rather than a vampire lair, and hope that the magician would not betray my trust. I took a deep breath, and laid out my plan.

‘A necromancer…’ the girl said. ‘Cool! I wonder if you could convince them to speak to us without raising up hordes of the dead, Luka.’

I looked at Miku, her smile stretching from ear to ear as she gazed back at me. Did she really trust me that much? I briefly wondered what it would be like when that trust was broken, before quashing the thought and putting it to the back of my mind. No use worrying over the inevitable, after all.

That night led to an uneasy rest, my mind full of endless possibilities.

* * *

 

In the morning, before anyone else was awake, I went back to Sachiko to find out where the closest vampire cave was, and unsurprisingly, it wasn’t far. Sachiko explained she needed to be close enough by for her research, which made sense, though not close enough that the vampires got curious and tried to make Sachiko their afternoon snack.

After our brief exchange, we headed out to the vampires, Miku and Kaito on Artax and I on my own horse, who I had yet to give a name. Usually the servants had given the horses names, and not ones I had cared to remember, so it was not strange to me that my horse did not have a name. The girl, however, couldn’t get over the fact, and kept pestering me to give her one. I said I would think about it, if only to silence her questioning.

When we finally reached the cave, I got off my horse first, and beckoned for the magician to follow. Before the girl came over to, I whispered to Kaito.

‘Act surprised when you see the vampires. My cover must not be blown,’ I said. Kaito sighed, but nodded, gesturing for Miku to come over into the cave.

This one was wider, more spacious than Sachiko’s home, fit for housing many more bodies. We crept on, since it was the morning they would all be asleep in their coffins.

‘Why are we sneaking?’ the girl asked, but quietly.

‘Traps,’ I whispered back. She made an “oh” shape with her mouth before sneaking onwards to the best of her ability, which wasn’t great.

‘You’re going to set them all off, you lumbering oaf,’ I whispered.

‘Well, I can’t exactly strip off my armour, can I?’ the girl said, ‘What if we get into a fight?’

I rolled my eyes, but I knew she was right. We would just have to be extra careful. Thankfully, we hadn’t come across any vampires yet, and I hoped they were low enough in the rankings for them not to smell us even in sleep. It was only a high ranking vampire we wanted, after all. I did doubt they were actually here, since any self-respecting master vampire would not be spending his or her time in a cave such as this one, but there could be a high enough ranking vampire that we could persuade to lead us to such a master vampire.

Soon, we came upon our first coffin, leaning precariously on the wall. Then we came upon one after the other, and all the vampires were dead asleep.

The girl was treading along carefully, despite her clunky armour, and even the magician was peering around cautiously, his hands shining a strange ethereal glow. We slowly moved forward, and the coffins grew denser. Why were there so many vampires here? Had we stumbled upon the worst possible cave for my plan to come to fruition?

‘Coffins…’ Miku whispered suddenly. ‘Hang on, this isn’t a necromancer’s cave.’ Her accusing gaze swept over to me. I shrugged and gave her a push to boost her onwards. ‘I’ll get you for this later, Luka.’

Finally, we came to a set of double doors set into the walls, I pushed them open, and thankfully they made no noise, appearing to be well looked after. The room was vast, circular, and a great dais in the middle held two coffins lay side by side. The rest of the wall was lined with more coffins, much to my displeasure. On the opposite side of the room there was a balcony cut into the rock, about halfway up towards the ceiling.

That was when I noticed the middle coffins lay open, empty.

‘Go back,’ I whispered. ‘ _Now.’_

Then Miku, the foolish girl, tripped over her own feet as she was sneaking along, causing a great clash as her armour struck the rock of the cave floor.

‘Oops.’

Silence seemed to envelop the room in one suffocating swoop, taking all the air with it. Damn it all! That clumsy oaf! What could we do now but run? How far could we make it before we had to surrender? If only I could leave them both behind, I’d be out of this cave in an instant before any of the vampires woke up properly. But no, instead I had to drag these inept, stupid, _worthless-_

‘Well, well, well…’ A voice rang out from the far end of the room, up on the balcony. It was rich, flirting. Almost to the point of snobbishness. ‘Who has stumbled into our home?’

As if on cue, the rest of the coffins opened up, and a slew of vampires stepped out almost in unison. All eyes were trained on us. I looked away from the smaller threat straight up into the eyes of the man who had spoken. It was dangerous, yes, but a vampire such as I could not be turned into a thrall from the powers this man held.

Or so I hoped.

However, he simply smiled at me, spreading his arms wide before his expression hardened.

‘Kill them.’

There was a collective growl, and I could feel the girl’s trembles from where I stood, but she took a glance at me before steadying herself. I knew then she would fight to the death, allowing my escape. The magician still had the glowing hands, so I assumed he would do the same. I got ready to run.

‘Wait, Tonio.’ A high-pitched, musical voice came from behind the man, and a woman stepped up beside him. She stayed the crowd of vampires with a wave of her hand. ‘Should we not question them first?’

‘If they are stupid enough,’ Tonio scoffed, ‘to enter a vampire lair by themselves, there is no need for questioning, Prima.’

‘Stupid, no. Stupidly brave, yes,’ Prima said. She was looking straight at me. She knew something.

‘Is there much of a difference?’ Tonio laughed, but he saw how Prima was looking at me.

‘Take them to Sakine castle,’ Prima said to the flock. ‘She will want to see them. Anyway, we can always use them as cattle.’

Sakine… How was that name familiar? In any case, at least I wasn’t about to put these two to their deaths… yet. Captured was humiliating, but at least we were alive to feel the humiliation.

The vampires came towards us, and we were pushed through many a hungry stare before we were gagged and bound.

* * *

 

Eventually, when night came, we were thrust on to a cart with a couple of other prisoners.

‘Mmm, mm, mmm!’ Miku tried to speak behind her gag, but nothing other than murmurs came through. Her eyes were trained on me, though. I knew she was furious with me about my lie of the necromancers. I rolled my eyes, and she stamped her feet back. Kaito had his eyes closed, perhaps to block out the hardship of it all.

A lesser vampire came up to us all then, and pulled off our gags. The girl opened her mouth to yell, and the vampire took his chance to shove a potion into her mouth, grabbing on to the girl’s head so she couldn’t help but be administered the potion. He did the same to the rest of us, and one by one, we all nodded off into sleep.

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

I let out a quiet groan, the last remnants of the sleeping potion finally fading away. I kept my eyes closed anyway, to give myself space to think. How had we gotten into this mess? Vampires… I knew they existed, but I had only heard the horror stories. Now we were in one such story, and it all appeared to be Luka’s fault. She’d known it was a vampire’s lair all along, merely pretending that it had been a necromancer’s hideout. But why had she lied?

I let my eyes slowly drift open, heavy from the potion. I saw that while I had been asleep I had been stripped of my sword. It seemed that it had taken me longer than the other two to wake up, since both their eyes were open, and they were staring intently at one another. It took a moment of staring, but eventually Luka’s eyes slid open to meet mine. I didn’t understand how they held no fear at all, not even a smidgeon. Even Kaito looked a little worried. How could she be so sure of herself? But I couldn’t say anything, not through my gag, so I stayed quiet and waited for the bumpy ride to be over.

It took a whole night, and dawn was almost breaking as we drew up to what seemed to be a lone tower stood against the stark landscape. It was marshy terrain here, and it took the horses some effort to pull us through to our destination. I thought about poor Artax, left alone outside a cave all by himself. Well, at least he had Luka’s horse for company if he got lonely. Hopefully someone nice would pick him up and take him back to Lakestead with them. Hopefully _we_ would get back before anyone could take him.

Finally, we pulled up to the tower just before the sun peeked over the horizon. The vampires that had set the orders to take us – Prima and Tonio – had ridden on their own black horses behind us. The vampire pulling our cart stopped just before the cobblestone path up to the tower doors, and ordered us to get out.

There was little point in arguing, but I did drag my feet enough for the vampire to give me a little push. He untied us, and took off our gags, and as he did so, Luka did something very strange – she put one arm around me.

I knew her well enough by now to know she wasn’t fond of touch, and from the look in her eyes I could tell this was killing her inside, but her features didn’t betray her discomfort.

‘Trust me,’ Luka muttered quietly, and I gave a curt nod in response. She almost smiled. We walked like that, with Kaito trailing behind, over the bridge to the tower. Then I saw the view.

Below the tower stood a great castle embedded into the rock. It was a winding, maze-like structure, with many a corridor and small parapets hanging out over the void below. It was a monster made of stone, and fascinating just to gaze at. Unfortunately, Luka was quite forcefully guiding me towards the tower entrance, so I just let myself be pushed forwards into the castle.

Through the doors we came to a spiral staircase leading down into the mountain. It grew colder the further we descended, but as usual Luka didn’t appear to feel the code. In fact, out of all of us, only Kaito and I were shivering.

The spiral staircase spread into a grand entrance hall, lit with candles that flickered in the draughty halls. Prima and Tonio stepped ahead of us along with the other vampire, who spread open the double doors into what looked like the main hall of the castle.

There were no windows, only those cold stone walls, but everything was richly furnished. A thick line of carpet covered the middle of the hall from where we stood to the bottom of a staircase that led to a stone dais. On that dais was a single throne, where a woman in deep, luscious reds lounged.

Upon our entrance she stood up, and Prima and Tonio ushered us forwards. The woman in red swept down the stairs and beckoned to us. Then I noticed as we grew closer to her, the woman’s face turned even paler than its snowy white with shock, looking directly at Luka. Was there something strange about her? Wouldn’t I have noticed by now? Sure, Luka had her oddities, but there was nothing immediately striking. Was there?

She composed herself quickly however, and a languid smile took over as she saw both Kaito and I. Luka’s grip tightened on my arm.

‘Luka… How good to see you, after all these years.’

What? How could she know her?

‘Meiko,’ Luka said, her head held imperiously high.

‘You’re not one to take pets,’ Meiko said, looking at me with quite the predatory smile.

‘Not usually, no. But this one caught my attention.’

‘I suppose you serve your mistress well?’ Meiko said, and I bristled slightly until Luka’s grip tightened even more. Mistress? What was she on about? Surely…

And then I realised.

No. _No._

She couldn’t seriously mean…

I looked up at Luka, who was still staring pointedly at Meiko. Everything she’d done… Killing with what seemed like impossible ease… Not eating… The cold… It all made sense now.

I looked back at Kaito, and he must’ve seen the hurt on my face, because he gave a quick shake of his head. Luka’s grip on my hand was painful now, sure to leave bruises, but part of me couldn’t feel it, it had gone numb completely.

And I knew, like Luka, I had to play along. Put on an act.

Because that was all this was, really.

I was so _stupid._

‘Yes,’ I said, flatly. ‘Of course I do.’

‘And the magician…’ Meiko said. Kaito froze. ‘He can come with me. Our last one got killed on a raid. Thank you for bringing him to me. Come on, young one.’

Luka looked at Kaito, and her eyes betrayed it all. She didn’t care whether we lived or died. She didn’t care about anyone but herself. Kaito didn’t, or couldn’t, seem to move. Meiko’s eyes flashed.

‘Come. Now.’ He didn’t have any choice in the matter, pulled along by an unknown force. It was hard to hold back the tears as Meiko took him in her grip. ‘By the way, Luka…’

The elf… vampire… looked at Meiko with those icy blue eyes that I thought I knew so well.

‘I know what happened,’ Meiko said. ‘You can drop the act. The only reason I haven’t killed you on the spot is because you brought me a present. Stay in my good graces.’

I dropped Luka’s hand immediately.

‘Prima. Tonio. Show them to a room, I don’t care where.’

And with that, Meiko excused herself, dragging an enthralled Kaito with her.

Prima took Luka’s hand, and Tonio took mine, and the pair forcefully guided us away, leading us through corridor after corridor, down staircase after staircase. I didn’t care where we were going, what it looked like.

None of it mattered.

Eventually they stopped outside a room, and pushed Luka and I in, locking the door behind us with a loud bang. The bedroom was sparse, but what little furniture there was seemed to be just as expensive as the decorations from the main hall. I noted drily that it had two separate beds.

Luka still didn’t turn to face me, and I’d had enough. Marching right up to her, I jabbed my finger at her chest.

‘Why?’ I asked, and Luka’s eyes closed, and for a moment I thought that maybe, just maybe, there was _something_ there, something to latch on to. ‘I thought that-‘

‘That you what? That you could trust me?’ Luka said. She began to pace around the room, circling me. ‘Then you are a bigger fool than I took you for.’

‘You placed your trust in me, didn’t you?’ I said, quietly. ‘You should expect the same in return.’

Her eyes flashed then, far too similar to Meiko’s for my liking.

‘I _never_ trusted you. I never trusted anybody.’ Her voice was flat, cold.

‘You can’t-’ I said, pulling at my hair in frustration. ‘You can’t live like that!’

‘Do _not_ tell me who I can and cannot be!’ Luka shouted. In the space of a second she was in front of me, backing me up against the wall. Oh no, we weren’t doing this again.

I stood stock still, refusing to take another step backwards, staring right up into her face. It was the first time I’d really seen her this close, not counting that night in the inn. Even twisted in anger, her face had an ethereal beauty to it.

‘I could kill you right now with my bare hands and I would not look back.’

‘You don’t mean that.’ I said, crossing my arms.

‘Then you clearly cannot read people like I can.’ Luka spat back. I almost rolled my eyes. Even in anger she was as haughty as ever.

‘I don’t mean people,’ I said. ‘I just mean you. I can tell.’

That seemed to deflate her a little, and curiosity sparked in her eyes. She raised an eyebrow.

‘How could a fool like you possibly understand?’

How could I explain it? There was just a part of me that _knew_ , seemed to understand the look she got in her eyes, or the way she moved. I hadn’t realised quite how deeply Luka had gotten under my skin until she had asked that question, and it frightened me. Now, knowing she was a vampire, how could I still trust those feelings? How could I still trust her?

‘I did know,’ I started, unsure how to put my thoughts into words. ‘I knew exactly what you were feeling, but now… Now I don’t know. Not after all this. Not now I know you’re a vampire. I don’t know whether what I knew of you is all lies, whether what you’ve shown to me was all an act. I don’t know anymore.’

And there it was, a glint of… something, past the veneer of ice she kept up all the time. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see it for what it really was, but she looked away before I could tell.

‘Do not place your trust in me, or anyone, for that matter. It will only get broken.’ Luka said, before turning away so her back faced me.

I went to put a hand on her shoulder to… what? Comfort her? I sighed as she froze at my touch before she pulled away and went to one of the beds.

Why did I still want to be in the same room as her despite the lies she’d kept up? I didn’t even understand my own feelings, let alone Luka’s. I rubbed my eyes, exhausted from the after effects of the sleeping potion, and climbed into the other bed.

New mission, I thought to myself as I closed my eyes. Break down that cage Luka held around her heart. Somehow, there was still a part of me that wanted to gain Luka’s trust.

‘No more secrets?’ I asked, and there was a short pause as she answered back.

‘No more secrets.’

* * *

 

Once night came, there was a knock at the door. Only for politeness’ sake, however, since it was unbolted and opened without waiting for an answer.

I dragged myself out of the bedcovers and saw that it was Prima and Tonio, both with a rather nasty looking smile on their faces. Luka was already on her feet.

‘Miss Sakine would like to see you, Luka. Now.’ Tonio said, and Luka strode almost to the end of the room, then paused, looking over at me. ‘Without the pet.’

I scowled at Prima, but she ignored me.

‘Actually,’ Prima added. ‘You, girl, come with me.’

We didn’t have any choice in the matter, as both of them grabbed us by the hand and led us off into the castle.

‘There’s someone waiting to see you,’ Prima said. She still had that grin on her face, though, and my stomach did a little flip, hoping it was Kaito. I wasn’t sure if he’d be the same magician, however.

We wound through the corridors, all of them lit by candles, as none had windows, only wine red curtains where the glass should have been. It didn’t take long to reach what appeared to be a disused alchemy lab, with all sorts of strange ingredients scattered across multiple benches and shelves.

Kaito was in the middle of the room, staring at the opposite wall with his back facing us.

Prima gave a little giggle before pushing me into the room and locking the door behind us. At the slam of the door, Kaito turned around.

His face was gaunt, a pale, sickly white. His eyes had lost their lustre, and even his hair seemed to have faded from that vibrant blue. Tears came to my own eyes.

‘Oh, Kaito, what have they done to you?’

I ran over to envelop him in a giant hug, but he stepped backwards with a shake of his head. He was shivering.

‘Miku… I’m so sorry,’ he said quietly.

‘What do you mean, you’re sorry? They did this to you, those bas-‘

‘No… listen… please,’ he interrupted. I looked at him, and he just seemed so defeated that a tear ran down my cheek. ‘Miku… I’m…’ But the last word faded away.

‘You’re what? Kaito, what’s wrong?’ I asked, but then the last word became clear as he said it again.

‘Hungry.’

 

 

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

As the girl was led away from me by Prima, I myself was pulled along by Tonio. I did not let myself wonder where the girl was going, instead just focusing on what little scenery there was to look at. Understandably, there were no windows, since although the sun did not kill us, our vampiric powers were severely diminished. Though, I guessed that was something I did not much need to worry about anymore. But there was no use being melancholy, so I just strode on to match the man’s pace.

My thoughts were insidious, reminding me every step that the girl was missing from my side. I had grown far too comfortable in her presence – this separation would do me right. She was angry at me anyway, so there was no use in thinking of her.

I made no attempt to talk to the man who was trying so hard to pull me roughly along. It was rather amusing, actually, since I was taller than him, and had a longer stride, so while he huffed along I strolled on at a relatively leisurely pace.

As we rounded yet another corner, my thoughts crept back to the girl. Where would they be taking her? Could they not just have easily left her in the bedroom where we were supposed to have been staying? I rolled my eyes at my own foolishness. It was not necessary to wonder about such trivial matters. Shaking my head, I decided to concentrate on the layout of the castle, deeming it essential should we need to make an escape in the near future, an event that was most likely. I wasn’t yet sure of how we could outrun master vampires, but it was always good to have a backup plan.

Surely Meiko would have some kind of plan for us. There had to be a reason for our capture, otherwise we would most certainly be dead. I sighed, ignoring Tonio’s questioning look. I could not read the future, so there was no point in idly guessing.

The plan, whatever it was, would surely involve the girl. That was probably the main reason she wasn’t dead yet, either. Or, if she wasn’t needed…

I stopped in my tracks, refusing to let the man pull me along any further. My strength was no match for his own, however, and he yanked me along roughly.

‘Come on, whelp,’ he said with a snarl. ‘I don’t have time for your games.’

‘The girl,’ I said. ‘What have you done with her?’ If he smiled, then that would be all I needed to know.

He smiled.

Damn it all! This was what I got for being complacent and waiting. But really, what else could I have done? I was in a castle full of vampires, there was no way in hell that I was getting out of here unscathed. I cursed at my own stupidity. _Foolish girl._ My mother’s voice echoed in my head _. This is where failing gets you._

I threw myself backwards in an attempt to get out of the man’s grasp, but he simply tugged me back.

‘Let me go!’ I ordered, and he merely scoffed. ‘Don’t you understand? I need the girl!’

Tonio laughed, a horrible sound that echoed off the walls of the castle, and started to pull me along once more. For the first and only time in my life, I was glad to come face to face with Meiko as we rounded the corner. Most likely she had heard everything.

‘I believe I didn’t give you permission to slaughter her _pet_ ,’ her silky voice said, and Tonio froze.

‘I thought-‘

‘You thought wrong. Let her go,’ Meiko said, and Tonio did so. She turned to me and spoke in a hideously soft voice. ‘ _Run.’_

I was not about to question her decision, even though I wondered why she had made it. It would become clear later. For now, I would take this chance. The way back through the corridors was a nightmare of architecture, and I was glad I had made the effort previously to memorise the layout. However, once I came to the bedroom door, I had little idea of where to go next. Thankfully, Tonio had been sent with me, and he ended up guiding me to where I needed to go with a permanent scowl fixtured on to his features. Glad Meiko had been of use for once in her miserable existence, I was guided straight to a locked door with Prima lounging on it.

‘What are you doing here?’ Prima said, looking at the man and purposely blanking me.

‘Meiko found out. She wasn’t happy,’ Tonio said. I almost laughed. That was an understatement, backed up by the woman’s face paling considerably. What had they done with her? What had they tried to kill her with? Had they succeeded? I cursed to myself in my mind that I was so affected by this, but I couldn’t concentrate on those feelings now..

Prima wordlessly opened the door.

I immediately spotted her, with her ridiculous turquoise twin tails. Thank the gods, she was alive, just about, it seemed. Seeing a flash of blue hair as he leapt towards the girl, I realised what they had done. Those bastard vampires!

Tonio and Prima lunged in and caught the magician before he struck the blow, though I believed that the girl could have fended him off.

She looked up at me… Was she crying? Why would she be crying? Then her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the floor.

Walking over, I saw that her armour had taken quite the beating, and there were cuts on her face. Fortunately, she was still conscious, but very much in shock. But why? I knew that she had counted the magician as her ally, but that meant nothing when said magician was trying to feed off her like cattle. It was live or die, no questions about it, and I had seen her kill before. It wasn’t as though she held any qualms about it. Even if it was her ally that she was fighting, why should that have made any difference? When someone was trying to kill you, they lost all recognition in my eyes. They were just another person, after that. It was simple.

So why was she crying?

‘Luka… Is that you?’ the girl asked, looking up at me from her position on the floor. Her voice was thick with tears.

‘Yes, it is.’ I said, not sure what else to add. She appeared to relax then, oddly enough. I knew she was still angry with me, so I didn’t see how she could take comfort from such a bland statement. Humans were very strange.

I could still hear Kaito growling from the other side of the room, his vampiric side having taken over completely. If they didn’t feed him soon, he’d be lost to the urges forever. Sighing, I knew I would have to stoop so low as to feed off the castle’s cattle too, if Meiko would permit it. I was sure she would, as she wouldn’t want another rabid vampire on her hands.

The girl still had tears running down her face, though she was doing her best to wipe them off. It was making me angry now, all this pointless weeping.

‘Why must you cry so?’ I asked, slapping my hand on to the wall to make the girl jump. ‘What are you even crying for?’ As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I should not have said them, for the girl’s face creased into a frown.

‘You really have to ask why?’ she said, and despite myself, I nodded. ‘You’ve been far away from humanity for a long time, haven’t you?’

I almost froze – that hit too close to home. Even after Miku had asked me for no more secrets, I still had the biggest one kept under wraps, and it wasn’t about to be revealed any time soon, at least not to her. Kaito was possibly shrewd enough to figure it out had I wanted to give him enough pointers to do so, but I never would in fear of him telling the girl.

Instead, I looked away, and both the girl and I watched as Prima and Tonio took the magician away.

Meiko swept into the room a few minutes later as the girl and I were in silence, lost in our own thoughts. She smiled down at us both – we must have looked a sorry pair, I in my peasant clothing, Miku with her tear-streaked face mixed with blood from her cuts.

‘Now that you’re both where I want you… Let me tell you of the quest I had in mind for you both,’ she said.

‘And our reward for doing so would be?’ I asked, though I already knew the answer.

‘Not dying, of course,’ Meiko grinned. ‘I’m sure you, Luka, would know what heroes are?’

My eyes widened. As much as I professed about Gumi being a witch, she was truly a hero. People chosen by the gods because they had committed so many selfless deeds in their lifetime, they were given powers that would rival my own, both the vampiric and my magical abilities together.

‘There is more than one?’ I asked, and Meiko nodded with a smirk – she knew who I was talking about. Gumi had called upon the gods in addition to her own heroic powers to strip me of my abilities, and for that I would never forgive her. Knowing that there was more than one damned hero in my lifetime that I had to deal with... Well, it made my blood

positively boil. ‘I assume you want us to kill them?’

Miku staggered to her feet, and tugged me to one side, whispering. She probably didn’t realise that Meiko had heightened senses and could most likely hear every word she was saying.

‘What are heroes?’ she asked. Once I explained, her eyes widened and she bit her lip. ‘But they aren’t evil, are they? I can’t fight someone like that.’

‘You have to,’ I whispered back fiercely, ‘Meiko will find out if you don’t, and then we’re dead.’

‘Couldn’t we just run away?’ Miku said.

‘You can’t,’ Meiko said suddenly, and the girl balked. ‘I’ll be sending Prima with you. Consider it her punishment for trying to murder you earlier.’

Damn it all! Why could things never be simple?

‘So, where are we going?’ I asked, turning to face the woman in red.

‘To the town of Ashmoor,’ Meiko said. ‘It’s not far from the castle, but since you’ll be travelling with Prima, it’ll need to be at night. If she dies, I _will_ hunt you down and kill you. Do you understand?’

‘Of course,’ I smiled. Somehow, Meiko had given us our way to freedom. Somehow, we would make it out of this.

* * *

 

After that ordeal, we were forcefully guided to our bedroom, where the door was locked tightly shut once more. The girl immediately collapsed on her bed after stripping off her armour, and I went to sit on mine, facing away from her.

‘As much as I want to live, I…’ she trailed off, and I sighed.

Why must she make everything so difficult? I did not understand. It was the same case as with Kaito, she should not feel bad for saving her own skin.

‘I do not understand you,’ I said. ‘This is key to our escape and yet you are willing to throw it all away. On what? Something as pathetic as _morals_? Please!’

‘How long have you been a vampire, Luka?’ Miku asked suddenly after a short silence. I turned to face her and found she was staring straight at me.

‘About one hundred and fifty years. My whole life.’

‘So you were born a vampire?’ she asked, and I said yes. She nodded, closing her eyes, seemingly mulling it over. What that was supposed to mean I didn’t know, and thought it best to leave her to whatever thoughts she had going on in that small head of hers.

Finally, she wished me a goodnight, which I didn’t return, and she fell asleep.

What was she trying to find out about me? I sighed again, and lay back on the bed. The more I got to know her, the less I understood. I didn’t _want_ to get to know her, but somehow it kept happening. Were all humans like this? I didn’t know enough about Kaito to hazard a proper guess, but I assumed not. So what made her a special case?

Shaking my head, I left those kinds of troubling thoughts behind and drifted off into the world of sleep.

* * *

 

Once night fell again, we headed to the town of Ashmoor. Meiko had seen fit to give us back our weapons, and I knew we were heading into a ridiculously dangerous fight. However, the possibility of death was on both sides of the coin, and I preferred the quick death of battle to the long, tortuous death that Meiko would inflict.

Kaito came with us, having been fed, and every time the girl looked at him it seemed she would almost begin to start that infernal weeping again. Glaring at the back of the pair’s heads didn’t appear to help matters, so I walked with Prima. The vampiric woman was staying resolutely silent, which I supposed was supposed to offend me in some way, but it worked to my advantage. I did not care for her quarrel with Meiko, and I was not about to extend my sympathies.

It did not take long for us to spot the village on the horizon. It was only a small thing, comparable to the size of Willow Vale, with the same wooden buildings. In essence, a very boring place.

Unfortunately, someone appeared to have seen our arrival, as two very prominent figures stood waiting at the village’s entrance.

These must have been the heroes Meiko had mentioned. Damn it, there went the element of surprise. It looked like we were to be forced into battle straight away. Somehow their aura just gave them away. Probably all the sickening goodness they held inside them.

The girl stopped as soon as she saw them, as did the magician, their mouths slack. I supposed their aura must have been stronger to those do-gooders.

‘Halt!’ said one of the figures, a short blond girl. Her twin stepped forwards to back her up. ‘You’re vampires… No one like that steps foot in this town!’

‘Wait,’ said Miku. ‘We don’t want to fight.’

‘Are you sure of your decision. Meiko will not be pleased,’ Prima said. I stared at Miku, wondering what her plan was. Even the magician was looking at her thoughtfully.

‘It’s five against one, Prima. D’you think she sent you so you could fight? She sent you to die,’ Miku said harshly, and I raised an eyebrow. This was not like her at all. Something had changed in her since Kaito’s turning.

Prima stared at us before stepping backwards.

‘Meiko will hear of this. She’ll come after you. You don’t know how powerful she is.’

‘I won’t let you get that far,’ Miku said quietly. She turned to the twins. ‘You’re heroes, right?’

The twins nodded, eyes narrowing at Prima.

‘What about the other two vamps?’ the twin girl said. I pulled out my dagger and laid it on the floor, not leaving it to chance. This plan had to work.

‘I can vouch for them,’ Miku said. ‘You have my word. You’ll just have to trust me on this.’

The twins looked at each other, then both looked at Prima. There was a spark of fury in their eyes, one that I was glad I was not on the receiving end of.

It was all over in an instant. One second Prima was running back the way she came, the next moment the twins had surrounded her. Unfortunately, they gave the cold bitch a quick death. I almost smiled, but thought better of it when I saw the twins heading back towards us.

‘Now, why shouldn’t we just kill these two?’ the twin girl said, while the boy stayed silent.

‘I said I could vouch for them, didn’t I?’ Miku said. ‘Please. Can’t we just go to the inn and talk it over? They don’t have any weapons.’

The twins looked at each other, and thankfully, they nodded.

* * *

 

The inn was quiet, as expected of a village this size, so it was easy to find a table and recuperate. The twins were called Rin and Len, and Miku did most of the talking. Fortunately for us, the twins seemed to like her, and trusted her words.

Kaito was uncharacteristically quiet as he watched the three others eating and drinking. I did not hold any sympathy for him, since I did not know what it was like to eat human food, or drink the swill they called ale. He would just have to get over it.

‘We’ll have to watch for Meiko,’ he muttered to me as the other three were talking animatedly. I nodded.

‘It would be best for us to remain with the twins for now,’ I said.

‘At least Miku seems to like them. I trust her judgement,’ he said, and I raised an eyebrow at him.

‘Do you now?’ I said, and the magician nodded in earnest.

‘She’s… honest. I didn’t think I could ever regain her trust after… that. But I don’t think I ever lost it in the first place. I don’t think I can forgive myself as easily, though.’

I thought about it for a moment before surmising that the magician was right. After all, she never seemed angry looking at him, just upset. Another mystery to add to the pile. I shook my head. One day, I would ask her all these lingering questions, though I oftentimes cursed myself for having them in the first place.

For now, though, Kaito was right. We would have to be extra careful on our travels, and see if we could rope in these adventurers with us on our journey.

I did not fancy my chances against Meiko, even with a plucky girl and a vampiric magician on my side.


	10. Chapter 10

After my chat with the twins, I retired to bed early, thankful to get a room to myself for once. The single bed was comfy, and this little village reminded me of home. Whether that was good or not, I wasn’t sure yet, for an unfamiliar feeling of homesickness was curdling in my stomach.

All in all, I needed to have a good cry. The stress Kaito getting bitten, of hitting Kaito, being told Luka was a vampire… everything that had happened in the past few days needed to come out somehow, and I sure was _not_ ever going to get drunk again.

Every time I looked at the blue haired man, guilt curled its way through my mind and body, leaving me feeling like I’d done something deeply wrong. I knew, really, that I hadn’t… I had only been defending myself, after all, but I couldn’t see it like that. Not after hitting him so hard he cried out. It hurt, really hurt, to see the one I had grown so close to in such a short space of time have everything go wrong for them so quickly.

I wasn’t weeping to express sadness, it was an angry cry, a wish that things could’ve gone differently. But they hadn’t, and I was going to get over it and be fine. Things in my life had changed, deeply, and I needed to accept it.

As for Luka… I still wasn’t sure how much I could trust her. I wanted to, really wanted to, but she had kept secrets. Big secrets.

But I had my new mission to think about, and I was going to get Luka to trust me no matter what, no matter whether I trusted her or not. That was no way to live, not even for a vampire of a hundred and fifty years.

And despite everything, she had still come back when I was in need. Not that she was the one to save me from Kaito, or anything as ridiculous as that, but she had obviously sensed trouble and come back to get me out of it, one way or another.

Sighing, I went and laid back on the bed, mind full of a certain pink haired elf. One day, there would be a mutual trust between us. I just wished I wasn’t the only one pushing for it.

* * *

 

In the morning, I found Luka alone at a table, with her usual look on her face. This appeared to be becoming a trend while we were staying at an inn, so I went and sat next to her, helping myself to some stew that the innkeeper’s wife had kindly laid out for Luka.

It was strange, now I knew the reason why she couldn’t eat it, and now Kaito would be the same.

‘So,’ I started, trying to make conversation, since I knew she wouldn’t speak to me otherwise. ‘Is the hunt for your parents still on?’

‘Yes.’

‘So we’re still off to Nuriel?’

‘Yes.’

Ah. Conversation definitely was not on the Luka’s to-do list today. Not bothering to carry on to myself, I concentrated on eating until Kaito came to join us at the table. He took one look at the bowl of stew and put a hand to his mouth.

‘How’re you feeling today, Kaito?’ I asked brightly.

‘’Hmm?’

I repeated the question, and he just nodded, mind elsewhere. He avoided looking right at me. Guess there wasn’t any talking to be had at this end, either. Feeling a small twinge of guilt, I carried on eating, pretending that everything was perfectly normal.

I almost praised the gods when Rin and Len came down to breakfast.

The pair had already been told our adventures up until this point, and they had seemed to understand our predicament, even Luka’s, though it was a bit odd… Though maybe odd was an understatement. They eventually agreed to help us fight Meiko when she finally made her descent on the village, since the people here had been frightened of the vampires ever since they set up shop in the castle a few years ago. Killing the vampire’s leader was probably the only way to disband the lot of them.

Rin and Len were certain that Meiko would come down to the village armed with a pretty sizeable army, so it was all we could do in the meantime to find others who could fight. The twins were heroes, yes, but we didn’t want to be too outnumbered.

The innkeeper had his own armour on hand, as did his wife, and the pair said they’d spread the word for us about our cause.

So now, it was just a waiting game.

Luka was still mulishly not saying anything, and Kaito was busy looking dolefully at the bowl of stew. Another twinge of guilt crept up my side, but this time I ignored it. This was getting ridiculous. We needed to talk, desperately, even just for my own peace of mind.

‘Kaito, can we have a chat?’ I asked, and it took a moment for him to actually respond with a nod. He still wasn’t looking at me. I almost rolled my eyes, but managed to stop myself.

Leaving the inn, I was greeted with a blast of cool spring air, but fortunately, the porch kept us from getting wet from the spatters of rain. I turned to Kaito, and he was still studiously staring at the ground as he followed me outside. It was a wonder he didn’t trip over his own feet.

‘Kaito, look at me,’ I said, and he dragged his gaze from the floor, but he couldn’t quite meet my eyes. ‘Please. Stop beating yourself up over it.’

‘Miku, I…’ he trailed off. He sighed, scratching the back of his head. ‘I could say I’m sorry, but it wouldn’t matter.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because!’ he shouted. ‘Because words like that don’t mean anything!’

‘They do to me,’ I said quietly. ‘I’m sorry, for one.’

That made him look at me properly then, and he appeared to be taken aback.

‘What do you mean?’ he said. ‘What do you have to be sorry for? I was the one who… who-‘

‘I hurt you! I never do that to friends... Though I understand if you don’t want to be friends anymore,’ I said, and that last part hurt deep inside me.

‘You thought I didn’t want to be your friend anymore?’ Kaito asked, and I nodded. He shook his head, and with a laugh, he gave me a hug. Sniffing a little, I pulled away after a few moments, and felt better for it. ‘Miku, I’m the one who should be sorry. I tried to hurt you, and I don’t think I could ever forgive myself for that, at least not for now.’

‘But I forgive you.’

‘I’m afraid that’s not how it works,’ he said with another laugh. ‘But it does make me feel better. I’m glad you dragged me out here to chat.’

‘Come on then,’ I said, smiling up at him. ‘Let’s go and see if Luka and the twins are alright.’

Provided the twins hadn’t killed that stubborn vampire yet.

Thankfully, the trio seemed to be fully intact, though Luka seemed to be in more of a mood than usual, judging from her posture. Wondering if I could break her out of it, I went a slipped back into the seat next to her. What could I do? Thinking for a moment, I rummaged around in my bag to see if there was anything of use, and found the book I had… borrowed… from the library in the mage’s guild. I slammed it on the table, and all eyes fell on me.

‘Hey, that’s Artax and the Troll!’ Kaito said excitedly. Everyone looked at him, and he only blushed in response.

‘Are you going to read it?’ Len asked. ‘Isn’t it a choose your own adventure book?’

‘Yup,’ I said with a grin. ‘And Luka’s going to play it with me, right, Luka?’

‘I want no part in your games,’ Luka sneered.

‘Not even if you get a prize if you win?’ I said, sliding the book towards her. Her eyes narrowed.

‘What kind of prize?’

‘Anything you want,’ I said, but then realised that I was speaking to Luka. ‘Okay, maybe not _anything-_ ‘

‘Ah, but you have said it now,’ Luka said with an especially evil glint in her eye. ‘No going back on your promises, girl.’

Oh, gods, what had I gotten myself into? Well, at least no-one won on the first try, right? With a little less vigour, I pulled the book back towards me and began to read.

‘Artax was a brave warrior who roamed the lands of Mirren, slaying evil-doers on sight. Witches, dragons, vampires-‘ Luka’s eye twitched at that, ‘none were a match for his mighty sword and shield. One day, Artax was told of a smelly troll cave that was troubling the next village over, and he decided to go and slay the beast. He came to a split in the road, one leading down a tree lined path, and the other a path by a river. Which does he take?’

‘The forest path,’ Luka said without missing a beat.

‘The forest path was dark, but Artax was brave and continued on without a problem, until two wolves appeared from the undergrowth! Does he raise his shield, or attack with his sword?’

‘Obviously, he attacks with his sword,’ she said with a roll of her eyes.

‘Artax swung his sword and decapitated one of the wolves in one fell swoop. He easily killed the other, and continued down the forest path. Eventually, he saw a cave, and a narrow path that wound uphill. Which does he take?’

‘The narrow path, of course. The cave would have far too many possibilities for danger,’ Luka said. Damn, she was good at this. Would I really have to do whatever she wished? At this rate, it seemed likely.

‘Artax climbed the narrow path, and he came to the top of the hill, where he could see the village below. Does he stop by the tavern first, or carry on straight to the cave?’

‘The tavern,’ Luka said, after a moment’s thought. ‘He would want information on the beast, surely.’

‘Artax stayed at the tavern to rest up before the fight. But bandits came in the night and stole all his weapons, leaving Artax to fight the smelly troll bare-handed. Does he give up and go home, failed in his quest, or does he fight the troll?’

‘He’s a warrior, isn’t he? He can fight the troll, the coward.’

‘Artax went to the troll cave and faced off with the beast. He swung a punch, but without a sword nor shield, the troll deflected Artax easily. The troll then smashed in Artax’s head and ate his brains. The end.’

Luka’s eyes widened ever so fractionally, and her fists tightened.

‘Best of three!’ she ordered.

‘Never!’ I grinned cheekily.

‘Give me the damned book,’ she said, but I threw myself over the book before she could get her hands on it.

‘You’ll never have it. That’s cheating,’ I said, face down on the table. I turned my head so I could see her, and I could swear that there was a glimmer of a smile on her features. Yes! Had I successfully pulled Luka out of her mood? I wished that I could just ask her, but that would defeat the point a little. I would just have to rely on what she gave away in her features. Grinning at her, I poked out my tongue and the glimmer of a smile grew, just a fraction.

Luka then raised an eyebrow, and clonked me over the head with her fist, just gently enough to get away with it. Ouch. Maybe that smile wasn’t as genuine as I had thought.

I got up from the table, still clutching the book to my chest in case she made a grab for it, but she just stared at me, eyebrow still quirked. Was she trying to fake me out? Plan her next move? Or-

‘They’re here!’ One of the villagers burst into the inn, panting heavily as they shouted their warning. I dropped the book immediately, and went to grab my sword. Rin and Len did the same, and even Luka stood up.

‘Luka, what are you doing?’ I asked. ‘You have to stay here.’

She looked at me as though ears had sprouted out of the top of my head.

‘I can fight. I am no coward,’ she said.

‘With a dagger? I don’t think so,’ I said. ‘Please, you’re going to get hurt.’

‘And you would care if I did?’

‘I would, actually,’ I said with certainty. Despite everything, Luka was still my ally and friend, and I wasn’t about to let my friends get hurt if I could help it. Luka looked at me vey strangely, then, and I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. ‘Look, I’ve got to go, but you need to stay here. Please, Luka.’

Rin, Len, Kaito, and I went to exit the inn, and thankfully, Luka stayed where she was. I didn’t think she actually would, so it was a relief to see her actually obey _me_ for once instead of the other way around.

Outside, plenty were already fighting. I went and helped some of the villagers that were being overrun, but tried to keep an eye out for Meiko while I did so.

The vampire in front of me snarled, lunging for my throat. I brought up my sword and pushed back, deflecting the blow. It left me staggering. If this was what normal vampires could do to me, what would Tonio and Meiko be like?

Fiercely, I swung my sword across in a wide arc, and cut the vampire’s belly. He gasped and went down to the floor. Despite everything, they were still like humans in some respects.

How many vampires had Meiko brought with her? Everywhere I looked, there was carnage. I ran over to some villagers that were doing their level best to mow down a horde of the bloodsuckers, but were being overwhelmed.

I charged, bringing my sword down on one of the vampires, but that left me unprotected at the back, and someone barrelled into me with so much force I almost fell forwards.

I’d never been a battle like this before, and it was overwhelming to every sense. I could smell a metallic tang in the air, and every part of my body felt like it was charged with electricity. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once, and it almost feltlike too much.

Turning around to face my attacker, I saw that it was actually a villager that had been thrown into me. They hadn’t got up.

Swallowing thickly, I stepped over them, and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the door to the inn was wide open.

_Luka._

Leaving the villagers behind I sprinted with everything I had to the inn. I didn’t care about the battle, not any more, not when Luka could be…

Skidding to a halt inside, I took in what was happening.

Luka was behind the bar, and Meiko was inching towards her like a predator cornering their prey.

As soon as Meiko turned to look over at me, I charged, plunging my sword deep into her gut.

She laughed. With ease, she stepped back, pulling my sword out of her stomach like it was butter.

‘You think an ordinary human can kill me with just one blow?’ Meiko said. ‘Foolish little girl.’

With that, she grabbed the blade of my sword and pulled it away from me, despite how hard I was gripping it.

_No!_

I tried to back away, but she was on me like a shot, wrapping her arms around me in a deadly embrace.

That was when Rin and Len raced in, but Meiko had already dropped my sword and produced a dagger, which she held to my throat.

I looked over to where Luka was standing, and she was as furious as I’d ever seen her. Her hands were so tightly gripping the bar that her knuckles were white, and her face was twisted into a snarl.

But what could they do? They couldn’t let Meiko live, and they knew that.

So I had to die.

The cold metal of the blade pressed against my throat, and I willed myself to not be afraid, but cold fear was creeping up my whole body.

This was it, then. Death. I had never really thought about it before, not like this. I didn’t want to die like this. I wouldn’t let myself die like this, but what could I do? What would my dad say when he found out? Tears formed at the edge of my eyes then, but I refused to let them spill. I couldn’t show weakness, not now.

‘Take me, instead.’ Her voice was calm, controlled, despite all the anger that broiled underneath. What was she saying? I could feel Meiko’s surprise as her body tensed. ‘Take me, torture me, do whatever you please. But do not harm the girl.’

‘That’s a rather tempting offer,’ Meiko murmured. ‘Did you hear that, girl?’

Luka took a step towards us, spreading an arm to stop Rin and Len from charging. The dagger didn’t sway from my throat. Luka stepped even closer.

The swap was almost instantaneous.

Almost.

I ducked down just as Rin ran forwards, slicing across with her sword. She missed, but both Luka and I were in the clear.

Len blocked the inn as Meiko attempted to make her escape, so she turned back only to find Rin in front of her. They both dodged to the side, but Meiko went the opposite way and danced back to where Luka was standing.

Luka ran backwards, but that didn’t stop Meiko from jabbing at the elf with her dagger. Luka let out a gasp, and her hand came away from her side bloody.

I ran towards her, but Rin was quicker, and in one fell swoop, she finally ended the vampire by cutting off her head.

The woman in red was finally defeated.

I caught Luka as she sank to the floor in pain, and she didn’t try to shake me off, but she went rigid.

‘Leave me,’ she said. ‘I do not need your help.’

‘But you’re hurt,’ I said, and she looked at me, barely concealing an “obviously.”

At this point, Rin and Len had rejoined the battle outdoors, and I supposed I should have gone and killed the remainder of the stragglers, but Luka seemed more important now.

I didn’t let go of her.

Eventually, Rin, Len and Kaito came back in with some of the other villagers. They had won, but not without a struggle, and many were hurt. The twins saw to getting bandages and other medical supplies, but Luka wouldn’t let them touch her with the bandages.

I knew she wouldn’t want to be around others, so I looped my arm around her and half walked, half carried her up the stairs to my room. Once there, she immediately untangled herself from my grasp with a look of sour distaste.

‘Give me the damn bandages,’ she said, and I handed them to her wordlessly. ‘What? Are you going to keep staring at me, or can I heal myself in peace?’

I left the room, thoughts full of Luka’s decision. Could I say anything to her now/ Would she even let me acknowledge what she’d done? I didn’t know, but I did know we needed to talk about it. There was no way she was avoiding this like I knew she’d do if I gave her the chance. Also knowing she wouldn’t tell me when she was done bandaging herself up, I waited for a few more minutes before going back into my room.

Luka was on my bed, looking pretty mutinous. I thanked the gods for giving me the gift of being able to tell her moods at a glance – I would have to tread carefully on this one, so I stayed standing instead of sitting next to her on the bed.

‘Why?’ I simply asked. Despite her mood, I just wanted to get some answers.

‘I need you to get to Nuriel, or had you forgotten that?’ Luka said. Ah. Since she was vampire, even in her weakened state, she could’ve escaped Meiko eventually and come back to find me, providing I was still alive by that point. Then I noticed that she wasn’t looking at me, instead staring at the wall opposite.

‘But she could’ve killed you.’

‘I was counting on the moments inbetween the swap. Otherwise she would have killed you, and where would I have been then?’

‘You could’ve asked Kaito. Or the twins. You had a choice,’ I said. Her grip tightened on the bedclothes.

‘Must you press so? I am tired and hungry. Leave me be.’

‘You could…’ I started, but trailed off. What could I have offered? Some of my blood. It seemed to be a start on repaying the life debt that I now owed her. ‘You could have some of my blood.’

‘No.’ The answer was quick, almost too fast.

‘Why not? You’re hungry, you said so yourself.’

‘I said no.’

‘But-‘

‘Miku, no.’ My head snapped up as she used my name for once. She was looking at me now, and I couldn’t read her expression. ‘Just go. Help the others clean up, if you must.’

With that, she eased herself gently down on to the bed, hand still clutching her side, eyes closed, so I took my leave.

As the door clicked shut behind me, I wondered about what she had said. She could’ve just as easily picked Kaito or the twins to take her to Nuriel. I wasn’t so sure about the twins, but I thought Kaito would’ve been happy to, even though he didn’t know Luka that well. So why did she want me?

Could that mean there was actually some vague vestige of trust? I shook my head. The woman was such a mystery to me, in so many ways, and I didn’t know where to start in accordance of her feelings towards me.

I knew _my_ feelings on the matter. No matter what she did, or said, she was my friend. And now I owed her a debt, which I was going to repay one way or another.

If only life wasn’t so complicated.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of updates on this! I've been planning the ending, and updates on both sites were non existent.

I had not experienced pain like this in years. Decades, even. Perhaps it was making me delirious, and that was why I refused Miku’s offer of a meal. I knew that it would be foolish of me to accept, really, if I got a taste and enjoyed it, I would want more. Not even a vampire of my stature could resist such temptation when it was offered so readily. And there was a part of me that did not want to look upon Miku as a mere meal.

I had felt right in my assertion that the only reason I had taken part in the swap was because it was a way to kill Meiko. Not because I had felt anything towards Miku, not at all. I simply needed her to get to Nuriel. But then she had questioned me, said that I could have simply asked the magician or those infernal twins, and I just had not thought of that at the time. My only thought had been to… what? _Save_ the girl?

The constant pain in my side was making it hard to think properly, surely. There was no other reason that I was thinking in the way that I was. Pressing a hand to my forehead, grateful of its cool nature, I wondered where I might go from here.

Foolish woman, there was nowhere else to go, no other way to think. I had saved Miku, and that was that, there was no use denying it any longer. Maybe it was not for entirely selfless reasons, no, but there had been an element of honesty in my actions. I felt almost sick at the thought.

I had thought Miku would have still been angry at me for my secret, but she had still helped me when I had been injured. She probably thought that I had saved her for entirely selfish reasons, yet she still helped me anyway. I did not understand her. The more she did, the more mysterious she became. She was not just the overly perky dolt I had picked up outside of a bandit cave any longer.

The pain in my side felt worse than ever, so I concentrated on getting to sleep, but the task evaded me. Useless! Everything was utterly wrong, and I knew it. My feelings were all in a jumble, I was hurt and hungry, and I had had enough.

I tried to ease myself off the bed, but my side clenched, making me gasp. Damn it all, why was this form of mine so weak? Even if I had been prone to accidents back when I still lorded over Nuriel, I would have healed within seconds, even faster than Meiko. That woman looked positively weak in comparison to what I was.

What I used to be.

Closing my eyes, I tried to wash away all of my morbid thoughts, but they lingered still, much to my annoyance. It did not help that I was still stuck halfway off the bed. Where did I even think that I was going to go? Certainly I was not going downstairs to help with that sordid mess. I let out a low growl before slowly lying back down, careful not to disturb my wound.

This was going to be a rough few days.

* * *

 

The next morning when I awoke, the pain in my side seemed to have lessened somewhat. Not by much, but enough to make it off my bed in one piece. It took a couple of struggling steps to reach the bedroom door, and I leaned against it for a while, panting. How did I come to be such a weakling? This was pathetic.

Nobody else appeared to be up yet, so I made my way downstairs, clutching the banister as I did so. I didn’t care if the innkeeper or his wife saw me in such a state – it was the twins I was more concerned about. Miku had not seemed to have noticed the multiple wary glances they had sent my way throughout the events of yesterday, and I did not want them to see my weakness if I could help it. So I made my way to the table, and sat long enough to catch my breath. The bodies that they had brought in yesterday seemed to have disappeared, and I wondered what had gone through Miku’s mind when she had seen them. I wondered if she thought it was her own fault.

Ridiculous. This train of thought was ridiculous, and any other thoughts like it needed to stop, right now. I was sick and tired of thinking about that damnable woman.

Speaking of… I heard a creak on the stairs, and saw that it was indeed her that was descending down them. And here I was hoping to get rid of any thoughts pertaining to her. It was as though she had read my mind and had specifically tried to sabotage my plan.

‘You’ll need to change your bandages,’ she said immediately as she noticed me. Why did she care about my wounds so? Why did she care at all?

Argh, not again! I rolled my eyes at my own head, and Miku frowned at me as she sat in the chair next to me.

‘I mean it. It’s a fresh wound, and it’ll probably have bled quite a bit,’ she said.

‘How do you know?’ I asked, before I could stop myself. Yes, this would help my predicament, delving into Miku’s history, of all things.

‘My dad showed me,’ she said, a little wistfully. ‘He said I’d have to know how to patch myself up if I was going to be swinging a sword around all the time.’

I swallowed, thinking of my own parents. I had no idea what they would say to me right now, if they were here. My mother always did have an uncanny ability to read what I was thinking. Surely, the words that would come out of her mouth would not be pleasant. If they were with me, they would order me to distance myself from her. I knew it was the right thing to do. After all, I would only be with Miku until I ascended my throne once more.

I thought of Sachiko then, and what she had said to me about my parents. I had been studiously avoiding the matter in my own head up until now, but I supposed that I might have to face it not too far in the future.

Was there still a part of me that… cared for my parents? I had not seen them in many decades, and yet they were still influencing my life and my decisions. Even if there was some vestige of care left in me, I certainly did not trust them.

‘Luka?’ Miku said, bringing me back out of my reverie. ‘Are you alright?’

‘Yes, I am fine,’ I said automatically. I might have seen Miku in a different light, but she was still not going to hear my life story. Not ever, until the last moments, if I could help it. She looked at me a little strangely, but said nothing. I tried to get up in order to go back to my room so I could change my bandages as Miku had instructed, but I gasped as I stood up too quickly. Leaning on the table with one hand, I cursed to myself for showing weakness in front of her.

She didn’t look disgusted with me as I would have done, however, simply offering her hand to me. I didn’t take it, instead almost falling over towards the stairs so I could grip the banister. Hearing a sigh from behind as I struggled up the stairs, I shook my head. I didn’t need her pity. Miku followed me anyway, still not touching me. At least she knew how to keep her distance.

Once I had gotten to her room, since we had officially appeared to have swapped, I stopped.

‘I do not want or need your pity,’ I said.

‘I’m not pitying you. I’m just here to help. We need you back in shipshape so we can get out of Ashmoor, don’t we?’ Miku said.

I sighed irritably before entering the room, leaving the door open so she could follow me in, knowing she would have just barged in otherwise. She seemed to have gotten the no touching rule down, but the personal space rule appeared to have been forgotten. Thankfully, she shut the door behind her.

‘You should’ve stayed in bed,’ Miku said. ‘You could’ve re-opened the wound. I’m surprised you didn’t.’

‘Why do you care?’ I said tiredly, though I already knew the answer, really. She was ridiculous. Friend, indeed. How foolish of her.

‘Look, are you going to let me see the bandage or not?’ Miku said, and I frowned.

‘I can do it myself. I am not a child, Miku.’

‘I’m not saying that,’ she said with a sigh. ‘I just want to check your wound isn’t infected or something.’

There was no use arguing any longer, so I inched up my shirt just enough to reveal my side.

‘Luka… What-‘ she started, but then the woman burst out into laughter.

‘What?’ I demanded. ‘What is so funny?’

‘That… I don’t think I’ve ever seen such bad bandaging in my life. We need to change it right now.’ Miku said, hands on her hips.

‘I do not see anything wrong with it.’

‘Luka-‘

‘No. You are not changing my bandages.’

‘I _am_ , and there’s no two ways about it.’

‘No!’

‘Luka, look,’ Miku said, folding her arms across her chest. ‘You can’t do it, so just let me. It’ll be over in a flash.’

I sighed, knowing that there was not any other away around this.

‘Fine.’

Miku smiled, and left the room. Moments later, she returned with an armful of medical supplies.

‘Where do you even keep all of this?’ I asked.

‘My bag, of course,’ Miku said, with a bit of a confused look on her face. I did not question it. ‘Okay, time to take off your old bandages.’

She was right, the process was as quick as she could make it, small hands deftly peeling off the old bandages with ease. I was still tensed, however, as this was still highly uncomfortable for me.

‘Okay, putting on the new bandages and stuff. You alright, Luka?’

I barely nodded, which she took as a sign to continue. Even with my limited knowledge of wounds, this one did not look or smell infected, and Miku had made no comment on it.

Her hands were surprisingly warm, though I supposed they would be on my naturally cool skin. It did little to lessen my discomfort.

Finally, she stepped back and I could pull my shirt back down.

‘Y’know, my offer still stands,’ Miku said.

‘And my answer is still the same.’

‘Why?’

Damn it, infernal woman! Why did she have to question everything? Why could she not just let matters lie? I sighed, not wanting to give up my reasoning, but she was still stood there waiting on an answer, hands on her hips.

‘I do not…’ I started, but I trailed off. This was going to be harder to get out than I thought. ‘I do not wish to see you a merely a meal.’

There, it was said, and I felt all the worse for it. Here I was, displaying my weakness in my physical state, and now she had made me betray that same weakness mentally. She knew the implications of that sentence, and I was sure that she would latch on to it like a limpet. I would have to temper her expectations before she got too far with it.

‘This does not mean I trust you,’ I said, but she shook her head.

‘One day, you’ll have to accept that sometimes it’s okay to trust people.’

She was wrong, I knew she was wrong, but somehow it still didn’t fit with my recent thoughts and actions. Why must she make my life so difficult? It was all so much easier back on Nuriel as ruler.

Everyone was below me, then, they did not matter and were therefore worthless in the grand scheme of things. That was the easy way to be, that was how I was taught everything should be. But my parent’s words did not seem to hold as much stock now that I was on this gods-forsaken island.

So what were my feelings towards this woman? It was so difficult, my thoughts were jumbled and fragmented. Was there a word for what I was feeling? It certainly was not _friend_ or anything like that. And, as much as the girl pushed for it, it was not trust, either. But Miku had become important, I knew that.

She was not my equal, but no-one ever was.

‘Look, Luka,’ she started. ‘I know you don’t want to trust people. I don’t know why, but to get further than Mirren, you’re going to have to trust me.’

‘What are you saying?’ I asked, genuinely curious as to where she was going with that train of thought.

‘I mean we’re not leaving the island unless you can trust me. And I’ll need to believe you, too.’

‘You cannot be serious,’ I said flatly. I did not believe her. If she knew who I was, then surely she would change her mind _very_ quickly.

But, I realised with a jolt, I was not that person anymore.

That person was gone with my powers, and certainly would not have done what I had done yesterday.

‘I mean it,’ she said, and then she turned, tilting her head towards me. ‘Are you coming downstairs?’ she finished brightly, as though she had not even said the things she had.

‘I am,’ I said, quietly. I did not hold on to her proffered arm, instead leaning heavily on the banister once more.

If she was true to her word, and I knew she would be, we would not be leaving Mirren for a very long time, if ever. I could not just simply hand out my trust as though it were simple coin. I just could not do it.

Why could she not understand that? Why must she pester, question, interrogate every little thing? It was too much!

Once we reached the bottom of the stairs I grabbed her arm, not caring how it made me recoil for my personal space.

‘You cannot ask that of me,’ I hissed, and Miku’s expression of confusion faded away into something similar to exasperation.

‘I can, and I will. I believe in you, and so should you.’

‘But-‘

‘No. I’m not talking about this any longer. You can come to terms with it on your own time. I trust you, Luka, and that’s that. I simply expect the same in return. Now please, let go of my arm.’

I did so, more in shock at her words than anything else, and watched as she sat down at the table. The innkeeper had laid out a meal for her, and she dug into with relish, completely ignoring me as I stood in silence at the base of the stairs.

How could she ask this of me? She had no idea what I had been through to make it to this point in my life, no idea at all.

Ever since birth the lesson had been hammered in – not to trust, never to trust – and I was not about to undo my parent’s hard work by trusting some peasant girl from a backwater island.

Trust! Ha! I would rather cut off my own limbs one by one.


	12. Chapter 12

I woke up in a sweat, the image of the bodies still fresh in my mind. Touching a hand to my cheek found tears, and I quickly wiped them away even if there was no one there to see them.

It had taken me a long time to get to sleep last night, and now my dreams were turning quickly into nightmares. I rubbed my eyes to get the last of the sleep out of them before deciding that I had better get up and face the day.

Yesterday had been interesting. After I had told Luka that she wasn’t leaving the island until some semblance of trust had been established, she had stood in the same spot for a very long while before retiring to her room. She had yet to come out. I knew she was getting hungry, and I was about to suggest we go and find a bandit cave or something similar.

A rather morbid thought had occurred to me when we were clearing up the last of the dead, in that Luka could feed on them instead. But it seemed cruel to those who had died fighting against the very thing Luka was, and I was sure that if she did feed on them, karmic payback would be certain. Besides, now they were all buried, and I wasn’t about to unearth the dead.

I sighed and threw back the bedcovers. It was still early in the morning – the sun had not yet risen – but I was sure that I could find something to do. Perhaps a walk to clear my head would be necessary.

Once downstairs, I found Kaito up and dressed, heading towards the door to outside.

‘Couldn’t sleep?’ Kaito said, holding the door open for me. The cool morning air beckoned invitingly, and I stepped through on to the porch as Kaito followed closely behind. I finally shook my head, and he offered a smile that was faintly apologetic. ‘Me neither,’ he added redundantly.

‘Bad dreams,’ I offered simply, and he nodded. We quickly fell into step together, and it was a slow and steady gait, what with no clear destination in mind. ‘How have you been feeling?’

‘Oh, you know,’ he laughed. ‘As well as I can be, considering the circumstances.’

‘Oh, yeah,’ I said, looking at the floor. Deciding to change the subject, I added, ‘Do you know what I said to Luka yesterday?’

‘So that’s the reason she’s been sulking.’

‘Sulking? You’d better not let her hear you use that word about her,’ I said, and Kaito laughed again.

‘What did you say to her?’ Kaito said, and I explained.

‘I don’t know the reason she’s trying to get back to Nuriel, or why she needs to see her parents, but I think if we can trust each other, she can tell me what’s really going on, you know? I like adventuring with her, and I like being on a proper quest, but it’s not fair to leave out the end goal.’

‘Do you think you’ll ever get off Mirren?’ Kaito said jokingly, but then his expression gave way to something more serious. ‘I do understand your reasoning. I mean, you’re not the only one on this quest. I’d like to know what her motivations are too.’

‘Of course. But she’s just so… mysterious. I want to know where I stand with her, and at the moment, I don’t really have that privilege.’

‘Do you…’ Kaito started, but then shook his head.

‘No, go on. What were you going to say?’

‘How do you see Luka? What is she to you?’

‘My friend,’ I said, without thinking.

‘Don’t you think it’s all a bit one sided? I mean, there’s trust, and then friendship. I don’t think you’ve got either from her. I mean, I know her less than you do, but Luka is… How do I put this? She’s fundamentally different. Maybe it was how she grew up, or something bad happened to her. But something isn’t right, and it’s not just the vampire thing. I should know,’ Kaito said ruefully.

‘She said she wasn’t keeping any more secrets. I believe her.’ I said carefully. By this point, we’d reached the edge of the village, and so we turned back to face the way we came.

‘No offence, Miku, but…’

‘But what? I’m naïve?’ I said hotly. Kaito looked away. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. But I have to believe her.’

‘Why?’ Kaito said, eyebrow raised.

‘Because otherwise I don’t really have anything left,’ I said quietly. ‘You were right, I don’t really know enough about her to be her friend, but I am anyway. If she’s lying, then I don’t know anything about her at all.’

We were back at the inn, having walked a bit faster than I had realised. Kaito’s words had put me more on edge than I had realised. Kaito put a hand on my shoulder.

‘Try not to worry about it. I’m sure she’ll come around. I’m only worried for you, you know?’ he said, and I smiled up at him. Why wasn’t Luka this easy to talk to? Why could I so easily air my grievances with Kaito but struggle so much with her?

‘Thanks, Kaito,’ I said, and he smiled back.

It was moments like these which I had begun to treasure, when everything felt like it could be so simple and easy, when friendship was the only thing on my mind. No hissed words, no anger, none of that. Just two friends who had begun to care for each other like two allies should.

And yet, waiting for me in that inn was Luka, who truly was sulking after all. She still hadn’t left her room, and enough was enough. I stormed up the stairs and banged open the door to her room, making her jump up from the bed. Oops, I forgot it was still so early in the morning.

It was quite funny, seeing her like this, hair all dishevelled and clothes rumpled. She gave me a murderous look as soon as she realised who I was.

‘What?’ she said crossly, and her glare deepened when I smiled at her. ‘Can you not see I would like some privacy?’

‘Enough is enough,’ I said, ignoring her protests and sitting on the bed next to her.

‘What do you mean?’ she said before she could stop herself. She growled. ‘No, actually, why are you disturbing me at such a ridiculous hour? Leave.’

‘Nope.’

She tried to push me off the bed, but I held fast and she growled once more before looking away at the wall opposite.

‘Out with it, then.’

‘You need to come out of your room and stop sulking.’

‘Sulking?’ she spluttered, before righting herself again. ‘I’ll have you know I was merely-‘

‘Sulking,’ I said, and she gave a long suffering sigh. ‘Look, I know you’re hungry, so let’s go out and find something for you to eat, okay?’

She appeared to perk up at that, and nodded before frowning again.

‘It is still very early. And you are still trespassing in my space.’

I got up from the bed and she gave a haughty, smug smile. I almost rolled my eyes but managed to stop myself. I wasn’t in my armour after all – she could do some serious damage if she wished, and I thought she was pretty close to doing so.

I left, closing the door behind me without receiving a “thank-you” for my efforts, and sighed.

Why did she have to be so much hard work?

Later in the day, Luka finally emerged from her room, pointedly not looking at me.

‘Well, are you going to get your armour on, or are we going to just stand here all day?’

* * *

 

‘So, the next city is called Ravenwood, and it’s about two days away on foot,’ I said, looking at my map. ‘Surely we can find something for you guys to eat on the way there?’ I added, and Luka grinned rather ghoulishly at me.

It was still a bit of a touchy subject on my part, this whole finding something to eat business. _Or_ , I thought _,_ correcting myself, _finding_ someone _to eat._ Shuddering, I set off out of Ashmoor in the right direction.

Unfortunately, the twins had said they were staying in Ashmoor, just in case a new band of brigands wanted to set up shop in the castle Meiko had been residing in. So, it was just down to us three again.

It felt weird not having a horse anymore. Poor Artax and Luka’s horse were probably roaming the plains, looking for us. Unless, of course, bandits had gotten them already. Hopefully, wherever they were, they were being looked after.

Eventually, we came to a split in the path. One way carried down a mossy, tree lined road, and the other was more open to the surrounding area. Both led to the next town in the end, and both were a similar distance away.

‘Which way do you want to go?’ I turned around and looked at the pair, who had been following me in silence.

‘The covered path,’ Luka said, and Kaito nodded in agreement. ‘It will provide us with a little shelter from the elements and hopefully keep us hidden from any unsavoury people passing by.’

We walked on, and had been going for a good half an hour before I heard the distinct crackle of a campfire.

‘Bandits?’ Luka said.

‘Let’s go and see, shall we?’ I said, and Luka placed a hand on her stomach, maybe in the hopes of catching some dinner. Shaking my head, I decided it was best not to think of such things in the case that it turned my stomach. Even though I knew she and Kaito had to do it for survival, there was something odd feeding off the lifeblood of another human being, bandit or no bandit. And I knew for a fact that the two had probably not fed off someone undesirable in the past. Poor Kaito hadn’t really had any choice in the matter, but Luka most likely had better opportunities.

Seeing no point in attempting to be silent and sneaky, remembering how well it had gone the last time, I simply clambered up the hill and hoped there wasn’t too many people around the campfire.

Fortunately for us, there were only three campers around the fire, but unfortunately, they weren’t friendly types. Well, unfortunately for me and Kaito, who had to fight them, but it was at least a meal for the two.

They ran at us, deciding swarm me, as I had the armour and the greatsword. Kaito started muttering right away, and Luka backed away to a safe distance, unable to do much with only her dagger.

With Kaito’s magic handy, it didn’t take long to get rid of two of them. Just as I was about to deal the finishing blow to the last bandit, Luka glided up to my side.

‘Wait,’ she said, and the bandit looked up at her fearfully, too battered and bruised to do any more harm. ‘You may not want to look,’ she added pointedly, but I didn’t turn away.

Luka knelt down to face the bandit at eye level, then lunged forwards, wrapping herself around them. They were too weak to do anything but struggle, and I watched wide-eyed as Luka sunk her teeth into their neck.

How I had never noticed Luka was a vampire before the incident in the castle was beyond me. There was something feral in her actions when she was this hungry, and now, as she drained the life out of the bandit, she barely looked human.

It was as though my eyes were glued to that moment, unable to look away from the horrific nature of it all. I swallowed thickly as Luka pulled away. She didn’t look at me as she wiped the blood away from her mouth.

Then, I could finally pull my gaze away. Kaito, I noticed, had also been staring, but with a similar hungry look to the one that Luka had worn just a moment ago.

Was this the woman I had sworn my allegiance, my friendship, to? The moment that had just passed didn’t fell real, as though somebody else had taken over Luka’s body. And I had just stood to the side and let it happen.

There was no use in beating myself up about it, I told myself harshly. This was what I had signed up for the moment I had learned that Luka was a vampire. I had decided that I was going to tread down this path, so I had better get used to it. It was no different this bandit dying from Luka’s bite than the end of my sword.

Despite that sentiment, it still felt wrong. It was almost cannibalism, although Luka was an elf, they were a species close enough to humans, I supposed. Not that I had any experience with elves other than Luka, and she was clearly an exception to the rule. Shaking my head, I imagined what it would be like if all elves were like Luka.

Luka got up from her kneeling position, and Kaito dragged away one of the bodies to a dark corner. Had he seen my expression while I was watching Luka feed. I smiled wanly at his consideration, but I still felt a little ill.

‘Let’s see what they’ve got hiding in their tents, if they’ve got anything at all,’ I said, eager to move on from the situation. Luka watched me with an e=unreadable expression on her face as I dug around the tents. I didn’t question it. If was important, she would bring it up. Hopefully. ‘Hey, wait, what’s this?’ I said, reaching into the back. There was a small carved statue of… something., I wasn’t sure. I showed it to Luka, and her eyes widened, wiping off her previous expression.

‘Give that to me,’ she said, snatching it away from me as I held it out to her. She studied it for a moment, holding it over the light of the campfire. At this point, Kaito had come back from his… lunch, and watched us with interest.

‘What’ve you got there?’ he said, coming over to look. ‘A statue?’ He peered closer, and then his eyes widened, too.

‘What? What am I missing?’ I said.

‘You don’t know?’ Kaito said, not unkindly. I shook my head.

‘It is a statue of Exita,’ Luka said, frowning. ‘Crudely carved, but it is that.’

‘Who’s that? Some kind of saint?’ I asked.

‘No,’ Luka said. ‘It is a statue of a demon. They were cultists, most likely.’

‘Demons?’ I said, wrinkling my nose. ‘I didn’t even know they existed. I always thought they were a scary bedtime story.’

‘Oh, they’re real alright,’ Kaito said. ‘There’s three of them, actually. Zeronia, Ahia, and this.’ He gestured towards the statue.

With that, Luka dropped the statue into the fire with a look of disgust on her face.

‘I am glad we killed them,’ Luka said. ‘They were a blight on Nuriel, and they are now a blight on this godsforsaken island.’

‘Hey, Mirren isn’t that bad!’ I said.

‘You are missing the point, Miku,’ Luka said. She shook her head. ‘Come on. Let us get to the next city, and hopefully we will not bump into any other demon worshippers along the way.’

* * *

 

The next couple of days passed without incident, and we finally arrived at the next city of Ravenwood. It was right before nightfall, and the city guards were busy lighting the lanterns surrounding the area.

The city itself was large and open, and the buildings were all made from dark wood.

‘If someone set a fire here, the whole city would burn down,’ Kaito said.

‘It’s too open,’ Luka said. ‘I do not like the feel of it here.’

She was right, there was an air of uncertainty to the whole place, and not just because of its likeliness that it would burn to a crisp. Shivering, I stepped into the town, and the guards looked at us all a little warily.

‘C’mon,’ I said, trying to make the best of things. ‘Let’s find an inn to stay for the night, and we can move on in the morning. Simple.’

It was funny how things never went according to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again with the horrible puns of the Vocaloid companies as gods (or demons, in this case.) Exita, Zeronia, and Ahia are a joke of Exit Tunes, Zero-G, and AH Software respectively.


	13. Chapter 13

The inn was crowded, as was likely for an inn in the city. This time, only Kaito went to get a drink for Miku, and Miku instead came to join me at an empty table towards the back of the main room. People appeared to be avoiding our little area, giving us wary glances.

‘We are not welcome here,’ I said, and Miku frowned.

‘How do you know?’ she asked, and I sighed. Was she really that unobservant?

‘Watch,’ I said. ‘Do you not notice the way they are looking at us? It is as though we are merely the dirt beneath their shoe.’

‘You can tell that just by the way they look at us?’

‘It is fairly obvious, even to the untrained eye.’

Miku frowned again at the insult, but carried on looking over the citizens dwelling here for the night. It was funny, how she had not brought up the subject of my feeding before in the woods. I was certain that she would bring it up sooner rather than later, however, and it did not take long for her to get bored of observing. I could tell that she wanted to ask me about it, as she was wiggling in her seat in the most childlike of manners.

‘Out with it,’ I sighed. She wrinkled her nose at me.

‘I just…’ she started, but trailed off. ‘About the other day. I just wanted to say that I don’t think any less of you, for what you did.’ I raised an eyebrow.

‘Why would you?’ I said, not entirely sure what she was getting at.

‘I just mean that I know that it’s what you have to do.’

Ah. She thought that I fed because I had no other choice. Not that I did actually have any other choice, but she thought I fed for entirely pragmatic reasons. I wondered what the expression would be on her face if I told her I took enjoyment from it all. Disgust? Terror? For some reason, I did not want to see that from her, so I kept my tongue and merely nodded in reply. She gave me a great beaming smile, then, and I felt a small flicker of something in my stomach. Was it guilt? I shook my head at myself, pushing the feeling far away. Whatever it was, it was foolish and not useful, so I did not need to be feeling it.

But a question presented itself to me – was she really that naïve? Or was she simply lying to herself to make herself feel better? I did not know, and I would not ask her for fear of her losing that trust she had placed in me. If we were going to get off this island, she had to at least trust my word.

I would never actually trust her, but if I could lie convincingly enough, then we would be off on our way to Nuriel.

At this point, Kaito came back, mug of ale in hand for Miku and a concerned expression on his face.

‘What is it?’ Miku asked. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘There’s only two rooms available. You and Luka are going to have to share.’

Miku looked over at me with a troubled expression on her face. I knew what she was thinking about, but I supposed I had better be lenient considering her request of me.

‘That will be fine. I am sure we can manage,’ I said, and Miku grinned at me again.

‘There’s another thing…’ Kaito started. ‘There’s a rumour of a haunted house in the city. People have been avoiding it, saying strange noises have been coming from within, and there’s just a general feeling of unease around the place.’

‘Let’s go!’ Miku said. ‘I mean, we’ll go tomorrow, but that sounds exciting, doesn’t it?’

‘It sounds like a lot of trouble,’ I groused, and Kaito laughed.

‘Doesn’t something like that always find us?’ he said.

‘Yes, but we are not so stupid as to go looking for it,’ I said.

‘Come on, please?’ Miku said, leaning towards me with a hopeful glint in her eyes. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing. We can just go check it out, and if there isn’t anything wrong we’ll just carry on to the next town over.’

‘There must be a reason for people to think it is haunted,’ I said. ‘I highly doubt that it is nothing. Ghost are real, you know.’

‘They are?’ Miku asked, and both Kaito and I nodded.

‘People have souls,’ Kaito said. ‘That’s where the idea of a “ghost” comes from. So Luka’s technically right, they’re real, just not in the way that you would think.’

I nodded again at his explanation, and Miku took a thoughtful sip of her ale.

‘So can we go?’ she said, and I sighed.

‘Fine, but for no longer than necessary,’ I said. ‘If it is a ghost, there is not much we can do, unless any of us knows necromancy.’ Kaito coughed at this.

‘Actually…’

‘You know necromancy?’ Miku asked, a frown creasing her features. ‘But isn’t it, y’know, banned? And anyway, aren’t you an elemental mage?’

‘It’s not banned, per se, but it’s looked down upon by polite society,’ Kaito scoffed at his own words. ‘I used to be a necromancer, along with a couple of others, before one of them betrayed the group. I haven’t used my powers since. Why did you think I was still an apprentice at the college at my age? They were punishing me for bringing a bad name to the place.’

‘Well, I don’t mind if you want to use them,’ Miku said, after a moment’s thought. ‘It’s a kittle creepy, but if it’s what you were used to… I’m not going to look down on you, Kaito.’

‘Thanks, Miku,’ Kaito said.

Interesting. I thought of the power that Kaito could wield. Necromancy, elemental magic, and the strength and stamina of a vampire… There would be little that stood in our way now, with him on our side. Perhaps he had more use than I thought. I was also rather glad that Miku could see sense and see that his abilities could be used in our favour. She was in a very forgiving mood today, it seemed.

Eventually, after Miku finished her ale, we all decided to retire to bed for the night. We both got into our night clothes at the opposite end of the room, facing away from each other. Once we were done, we climbed into bed.

It felt strange, sharing my bed with another. Still, I supposed it couldn’t be helped, and thankfully, the bed was rather large, so there would be no instances of touching. It had been a long time since I had allowed anyone this courtesy, and it felt odd bestowing it on Miku, of all people. Maybe it was just in lieu of recent events, but she felt easier to be around. It wasn’t trust – never trust – but the beginning of something else, though I was not certain what it was.

Despite that, it still took a very long time for me to feel relaxed enough to even think about sleeping, and by that point Miku had already fallen into a deep slumber. Fortunately, she did not snore, otherwise I might have had to kick her out the room entirely.

However, after a few moments of tossing and turning, I heard a small whimper. I paid it no mind until she cried out again, loudly, this time. At this point she began writhing around in her sleep, and I almost felt the need to shove her out of the bed. This was worse than snoring by far.

Instead, I held my patience, and decided that shaking the woman would be enough to rouse her.

‘Miku, wake up!’ I said, but she didn’t awaken. I shook her again, and this time her eyes snapped open, and her hands clung to me desperately, bunching my nightgown. There was a film of fear over her expression, but she settled after a moment, realising she was not stuck in her nightmare any longer. I pulled her hands off me, and she brought them to her chest.

‘Sorry,’ she said, and I simply nodded before moving back to lie on the cushions once more. Nothing else needed to be said, now that the nightmare was over. Hopefully if she went back to sleep, no more bad dreams would come, more for my sake than hers. Closing my eyes, I tried to let sleep claim me. ‘Luka?’ My eyes snapped back open.

‘What? I am trying to sleep, woman.’

‘D’you ever get nightmares?’

‘No,’ I lied, wanting this conversation to be over so I could finally get some rest.

‘You’re lying, aren’t you?’ she said, and I rolled my eyes. Did she have some compulsion to question everything I did?

‘Look, let us just go back to sleep. If you want to talk, it shall have to wait until morning.’

‘Okay,’ she said in a small voice, before turning over so her back was facing me. I thought that was that, until she said, ‘Will you wake me up if I start having nightmares again?’

‘I will not have any other choice. I do like to get some rest, you know.’

‘Thanks,’ she said, and I could picture the grin on her face. She took comfort from the oddest little things. Humans were very strange.

* * *

 

Morning came, and with it, the so-called haunted house. Miku cornered a rather scared looking individual and asked for directions, and with a trembling hand, he pointed us in the right direction. There was guard standing outside the house, and he placed a hand on his sword as he saw us approach.

‘What d’you want?’ he scowled, but Miku flashed him one of her gigantic smiles.

‘Can we go in?’ she said.

‘This place? Off limits!’ He patted his sword, as though he thought he looked threatening.

‘Why?’ Miku asked.

‘Why? It’s haunted. People ain’t been coming back out of this place when they go in, so it’s my job to protect them. I _am_ a guard, after all. It’s my duty!’ he said haughtily.

‘But we’re just outsiders,’ Miku said, a little slyly. ‘It doesn’t matter if we go missing, does it?’ The guard frowned at us, then.

‘That’s true…’ he said. ‘Alright, I’ll let you in. But if anyone asks, I’ve got nothing to do with this. _If_ you come out alive, that is,’ he added, with a nasty look on his face. It was just our luck to get the guard with skewed morals to let us continue on this stupid little excursion. I sighed and rolled my eyes while I followed Miku as she scurried into the building.

Inside, everything immediately felt off. Even Miku could feel it, shivering in her armour. She brought out her sword and levelled it in front of her. The windows were boarded up, so only a little light crept in from between the gaps.

‘If there are ghosts, that will not help,’ I said, and she just swallowed audibly.

‘Okay, maybe this was a bad idea,’ she said, and turned around to open the front door. ‘Just to let in a little light,’ she added. But the door stuck fast. She shook it again, and it did not budge. ‘Um, guys?’

Kaito frowned and went over to the door, muttering something. Flames leapt from his hand, and he aimed it at the door, but the fire just licked at the wood without burning it. I cursed under my breath. Miku swung her sword at the door, but it just bounced off as though there was some kind of shield protecting it.

‘There is powerful magic here,’ I said, and Kaito nodded.

‘There’s got to be something in here that can help us,’ Miku said, and she gestured for us to follow.

The rest of the house had the same feeling around it. There was nothing but empty beds, empty bookcases, and empty cupboards that filled the place, and all of it was covered in a thick layer of dust.

‘Hello? Any ghosts around?’ Miku said, spinning in place as though looking for any signs of life.

‘I would have assumed the point was not to let them know of our presence,’ I said, but she shushed me.

‘There aren’t any bodies,’ she said. ‘So that means all those people must’ve gone somewhere.’ That was right, the guard had said people had been coming in but not returning. So where had they all gone? ‘I know! Let’s check for a secret entrance somewhere!’

‘This is ridiculous,’ I said, but Miku and Kaito ignored my complaint and set to work looking for a secret entrance. After finding nothing upstairs, we moved down on to the ground floor and started searching there. All the drawers and cupboards were empty, but Miku began knocking on the back of the cupboards.

‘This is like an adventure book,’ she said, a little too excitedly. Resisting the temptation to roll my eyes was difficult. That was until Miku knocked on the back of a cupboard, and the sound rang hollow. ‘Wow, cool! It really worked.’

She pushed on the back of the cupboard, and it slid away soundlessly into the wall. There was a tunnel leading away into the darkness beyond, with torches set into the wall. They were all lit.

‘I do not like this,’ I said, and Miku frowned.

‘I know, but it seems like it’s our only option.’

Then we had no choice but to go in. I was still not going to risk myself going first, however, so I left that honour to Miku and Kaito, who crept in together side by side. The tunnel was long and twisting, and the feeling of unease that had surrounded us like a miasma was only growing stronger as we walked further into the bowels of the earth.

‘Stop,’ I said, after a moment. ‘Do you not hear that?’

‘What?’ Miku and Kaito said in unison, and I shushed them. We all stopped to listen. There was a sort of… pulsing noise, creeping in at the edge of my senses. Apparently those two could hear it as well, as they both inclined their head towards it.

‘It must be the source of whatever power is held here,’ I said, and they nodded. ‘Let us continue.’

We did so, and finally the tunnel came to a wooden door lodged in the earth. Kaito pushed it open, and began muttering once more, readying his magic.

The pulsing noise was loud now, and in front of us was a peculiar sight indeed, though not one I had not seen before. In my time as ruler I had sniffed out any demon worshippers and punished them myself. I was the only one worthy of worship, not those damnable demons.

Before us lay a great stone dais, and a purple, undulating light beamed up from the middle of it. Wispy tendrils of light reached out to the people kneeling at the edge of the dais, there were about fifteen in total. Some were the city guard, others had on normal peasant clothing, and the last had hooded ritual robes. None of them moved at our entrance.

‘This is a summoning ritual,’ I said, and Kaito nodded grimly. I wondered how far he had gotten with his necromancy. Had he been willing to do something similar to this in the past?

‘But who are they summoning?’ Miku asked, and I shook my head, not knowing the answer. ‘Anyway, we need to find out how to stop it.’ She and Kaito went over to the summoning circle, trying to see if they could move anyone out of harm’s way, but they were stuck fast.

_They are summoning I, Zeronia._ A voice came into my head, so softly spoken that I had to strain to hear it. _You are Luka, are you not?_

_I am,_ I replied, without betraying my thoughts to the others. _And what would a demon want with me?_

_Surely you do not have to ask?_ Zeronia laughed. _I wish to return your powers to you, of course._

_And yet I do not believe you._ I said, but my heart began beating a little faster despite myself. _These things do always come with a price._

_All that price would be is to let my presence be known a little longer… You would be my messenger, of course. That is all it would take._

_I would be your slave._

_So untrusting. Here, let me give you a little taste…_

My eyes widened as I felt an unbidden power come coursing through my veins. Stealthily, I picked out my dagger and squeezed my hand around it.

The metal bent.

My strength… It had truly returned. The sensation was heady, intoxicating. And all it would take was to be a harbinger for Zeronia. A large risk, but my mind in this case was strong. And I would not have to deceive my parents… I bent the metal back into place with ease, marvelling at the power I had once carried with so little thought.

And then the power was gone, leaving me feeling a weak as a newborn.

_You want that back, yes?_ Zeronia said in that small, cold voice.

_I would be lying if I said I did not._

_All you would need to do is let those humans sacrifice their life force. The two you have brought in a powerful… very powerful indeed. They would be all I needed for me to come to strength for enough time as to bestow upon you your rightful powers once more._

My eyes widened as I realised who Zeronia was talking about. The two were stood around the light, and Kaito was trying to close the portal with his necromancy, but it obviously was not working.

My breath caught in my throat. I didn’t truly care for them, did I?

Did I?

I had grown to know them, had sacrificed myself for Miku – because that was what it had truly been, a sacrifice. Gods, I sickened myself.

My dagger dropped to the floor with a clatter.

_And so you have decided,_ Zeronia said. _No matter. I will get my revenge in due time._

And with that, Zeronia’s voice vanished from my mind.

I dropped to the floor.

No! No! I could not believe it. It had been _there_ , within my grasp, and my damn sentimentalities had gotten in my way. I cursed under my breath.

Was this truly who I was, what I had been reduced to? A snivelling, broken retch of the woman I used to be?

‘Luka?’ Her voice was calm, clear across the hall. Damn her! Damn everything about her! My hand gripped the dagger. I could do it, do it right now and claim those powers for myself. I stood up, weapon in hand. It would be so _easy_. ‘What’s wrong? Are you okay?’

My hand trembled.

‘Fine,’ I whispered. ‘Absolutely fine.’

What had my world come to?

 


	14. Chapter 14

‘Fine,’ Luka whispered. ‘Absolutely fine.’

Judging from the way she was knelt on the floor, unable to meet my gaze, she was certainly _not_ fine, but I could always trust Luka to lie about her feelings. Now was not the time to press such matters, however, since we still had a demon summoning ring to deal with. I looked at Luka, then back at the pulsating purple light. Waving my hand in front of one of the tendrils of light that snaked its way towards one of the poor guards that had gotten caught up in all this mess, I saw that it did nothing. The light simply swam around my hand rather than be cut off by it. Figuring we had enough time to settle matters, I went and crouched opposite Luka, careful not to touch her.

‘What’s wrong?’ I said. She was pale, even paler than she usually was, and I noticed that her dagger was beside her on the ground.

‘Miku, please…’ she said, her voice wavering in a most uncharacteristic manner. She lifted her gaze to meet my own, and all I saw in those icy blue eyes was a pain unlike any other I’d ever experienced. She stood up, then, the moment of weakness safely buried beneath a cool, emotionless mask once more. ‘I said I was fine. I am fine, so leave it alone.’

I bit my lip, unsure what to say that wouldn’t make her angry with me. But I needed to know what was wrong. Kaito, concerned, had come over to stand by my side.

‘What’s up?’ he said, and Luka’s mask cracked, just a little, before the emotions flitted away once more.

‘Absolutely nothing. Let us focus on the task at hand,’ she said, heading towards the purple light. With that, the Luka I knew was back, calm and collected as ever. But she wouldn’t let me glimpse at what lay beneath. I decided to leave it – it would come out in its own time – it had to, right? ‘I believe I know what we need to do.’

‘Which is?’ I asked, pretending that everything was perfectly normal. She nodded at me. Did that mean she knew that I knew? Would she actually tell me what was up later? I wrinkled my nose, why was it always so complicated with her?

‘The only way to stop the summoning is to take away the life force feeding it,’ Luka said, and Kaito frowned.

‘You don’t mean…’ I said, horrified. ‘You can’t mean to kill all these people – most of them are innocent!’

‘It looks to be our only choice,’ Luka said, though she didn’t appear to be regretful, but I couldn’t judge her expression through the veneer she had on. ‘If you cannot do it, I shall take up the responsibility.’

‘No!’ I said. ‘Wait! There has to be something else we can do, right Kaito?’ I looked over at the magician, and he still wore a frown on his face.

‘I’m not sure,’ he said finally, shoulders slumped. I bit my lip, looking over at the circle of trapped people.

‘Poor souls,’ I said. ‘They didn’t do anything to deserve this.’ I gestured at the circle, and then Kaito looked up at me with a gleam in his eye.

‘Say that again!’ he said.

‘What? They didn’t do anything to-‘

‘No, before that. Something about souls…’ Kaito said, running a hand through his hair.

‘What are you thinking?’ I asked, letting a little bit of hope creep into my voice. If Kaito had a plan, then we wouldn’t have to murder all these innocent people. Well, mostly innocent, anyway.

‘It’s feeding off life force,’ Kaito explained, ‘I’ve mentioned before that people have souls. Zeronia’s probably feeding off that. I should be able to free their souls.’

‘That will require a great deal of magic,’ Luka said, and Kaito nodded.

‘Yes, it’ll probably put my powers out of commission for a couple of days at the very least. I’ll probably need to feed again, too. But it’s the only way,’ Kaito said, looking at me.

‘Right,’ I said. ‘We’ll just stay in the city for a couple of days until you get your powers back.’

Kaito nodded, and then went over to inspect the pulsating light. Its noise was the only sound that I could hear, other than Luka grinding her foot on the ground. I would definitely have to corner her and ask her what was up when this was all over.

‘What are you doing?’ Luka asked.

‘I was thinking… Instead of saving the soul of each person individually, I could tap into this force and rip it from its roots.’

‘It would be terribly risky,’ Luka said, frowning.

‘Don’t do anything that might hurt you,’ I said, biting my lip, but Kaito just laughed.

‘I haven’t stretched my powers like this in long while. Let me have some fun with it.’

With that, he placed his hands into the purple light and closed his eyes. There was a moment of silence, and then his hands clenched into fists, and his whole body became tense. I opened my mouth to speak, but Luka stopped me by raising a finger to her lips. She came over to me and whispered in my ear, her voice soft.

‘Let him concentrate. He knows what he is doing. Have faith.’

That was strange, coming from Luka, but I took it anyway and watched in awed silence. I could tell from every line of his posture that his body was under stress, and he was beginning to shake. Kaito tipped his head back, and his eyes were glazed, now the same purple colour as the undulating light.

The light began to pulse faster. All of a sudden, the tendrils that grasped on to the souls of the circle snapped, and Kaito fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. The purple light vanished, flickering away out of existence.

‘Kaito!’ I cried, and this time Luka didn’t stop me, letting me run over to the exhausted man. His eyes flickered open after a moment, and thankfully they were the familiar, gentle blue that I had come to know. He gave me a soft smile, before moving his head to the side.

‘Look,’ he said, and I glanced over to where his gaze was directed. All of the people in the circle had crumpled to the floor in much the same way Kaito had, but they were slowly getting up, dazed.

I helped Kaito up, and noticed that Luka had picked up her dagger out of the corner of my eye.

‘Wait,’ I said, watching. The people couldn’t even get up on their feet, they were that confused. Probably weak from hunger and thirst, I was surprised they didn’t just keel over dead. ‘We’ll get you all out of here,’ I called out, and every set of eyes fell on me. ‘Just give us time, it’ll have to only be a few of you at once.’

‘What about the ritualists?’ Kaito muttered to me.

‘We’ll leave them till last,’ I said. ‘That way we can find out what was going on, though that seems pretty obvious at this point.’

One by one, Luka, Kaito, and I helped out the city guards and the other citizens. Fortunately, with the disappearance of the magical summoning circle, the powers locking us in the house seemed to have faded away, so we could bring everyone outside.

‘What the…’ said the guard that had let us in, as we brought out the first couple of people.

‘Call the rest of the guard,’ I said. ‘Get the rest of these people home so they can have food and drink.’ He just nodded, before sprinting away towards the barracks.

Eventually, as we went back into the house, we were just left with the ritualists. There were five in total, and all of them dropped the confused look in favour of a more afraid appearance. Luka stalked over to them, but I quickly stopped her, scared she’d frighten them even more. Not that they didn’t deserve it, considering what they’d done, but I needed to know what exactly had transpired, and if they were terrified out of their wits, then I wouldn’t get that information.

I knelt down in front of the five – they had all bundled closely together, maybe seeking some sort of comfort from the other. They all looked young.

‘What happened?’ I asked quietly, and the boy in front started to cry.

‘We’re sorry…’ he sniffled. ‘We didn’t mean to let it get so far.’

‘What were you trying to accomplish?’ Kaito asked, and the boy shrugged despondently.

‘We just thought it’d be cool, y’know? Like, someone our age managed to summon something so big… I didn’t know it would get like this… I thought we could shut it down.’

‘You thought… Because…’ Kaito was speechless, and he shook his head. Luka had a very pronounced sneer on her face. ‘You do realise who you tried to summon there, don’t you?’

‘Not really…’ the boy said. ‘We just thought she was a powerful demon.’

‘Gods, I’m surprised you weren’t killed outright,’ Kaito said. ‘Though you realise that would be entirely what you deserved, right?’

I glanced sharply at him at that, but Kaito shook his head again.

‘No, Miku, they need to realise the scale of what they tried to do here. The damage you could’ve caused! You fools! How did you ever think that was a good idea?’

With that, Kaito began to lay into them, berating them. When all of them started to cry, I figured that Kaito had done enough damage control, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

‘Come on,’ I said, ‘that’s enough excitement for one day. Let’s get them out of here.’ He sighed, and nodded, and one by one, we helped them out of the house.

‘I’m never going back in there again,’ said one of the ritualists. The guard had come back with several others at this point, and they surrounded the group.

‘No, you won’t, since you’ll be spending a good long while in gaol,’ one of the guards said. Too exhausted to run away or fight, the ritualists let themselves be led away from the house, leaving just us three standing there with the guard who had let us through in the first place.

‘A reward of some kind would be welcome,’ Luka said, and the guard scoffed.

‘A reward? To outsiders? Don’t be ridiculous,’ he said, and Luka bristled, aiming a fiery glare in his direction. He just rolled his eyes. ‘Fine. Take it up with the earl, it’s not my job.’

‘Thanks,’ I said, and I heard Luka snort behind me. ‘Come on, let’s leave it for now.’

* * *

 

The time had flown by – whether that was to do with the magic that had been at play, I didn’t know – but it was time for a rest, and some answers off Luka. We headed back into the city inn, and the fire was crackling merrily away in the inglenook fireplace at one end of the room. I pulled up a chair, and Kaito sat heavily in the one next to me. Luka looked around for a moment, but eventually sat in the free chair by my other side. Fortunately, the inn was rather quitter than it was the other day, which left me some time to gather my thoughts on what had happened today.

‘If only I could have a mug of ale right now,’ Kaito said with a sigh. ‘I think I’ll just doze here for a while, if that’s alright with you.’ I just patted him on the shoulder with a nod, and Kaito’s eyes flickered shut.

Luka and I sat in silence for a long while, and she was staring deeply into the flames. She still held her mask, so it was difficult to see what she was really thinking. After a while, she must’ve felt me staring at her, since she tore her gaze away from the fire and threw me a glare.

‘What?’ she asked. ‘What could you possibly want from me now?’

I almost rolled my eyes at her waspishness, but managed to suppress it.

‘Walk with me?’ I asked, and she raised an eyebrow.

‘Can we not talk in our seats?’

‘You know what I want to talk about,’ I said, and her expression clouded over. She folded her arms over her chest. ‘Look, I’m going to keep pestering you about it, so you may as well get it out of the way.’

After a moments pause, she finally got up and followed me out of the inn into the street. It was busy, being the main thoroughfare, which meant we had to weave through people to find an unoccupied bench, but it also meant that our words would be lost in the noise.

Luka perched on the very end of the bench, so I squashed up next to her so she couldn’t escape, but not so close that I was touching her.

‘So, are you going to tell me what happened in there or not?’ I asked. There was no use in beating around the bush with Luka, since we’d be there all day if I did, so it was easier to just get straight to the point.

‘Nothing. Nothing happened. Happy now? I can leave now, yes?’ Luka said, sneering at me. I put a hand on hers, and she froze.

‘Look, you don’t have to tell me. But I can help you, if there’s something wrong. That’s what friends are for.’ Her eyes widened.

‘Friends…’ She stared at me for a moment before shaking her head, as though trying to clear out the thoughts that lurked there. She didn’t pull her hand away. ‘Zeronia… She…’

I stared at her, trying to egg her on with my expression alone, but she looked away. Was this really Luka, sat beside me? Opening up to me?

‘She got inside my head,’ she said, staring at the ground. ‘She gave me back my powers.’ Luka gave a small, self-depreciating little laugh as my mouth dropped open. ‘Not for long. Obviously, there were conditions. Foolish of me to expect any less, really.’

‘But you haven’t got them now,’ I said. The mask had gone, leaving a lost, vulnerable woman in its place.

‘No, I have not,’ she whispered. ‘I was so close, _so_ close, Miku.’ I swallowed thickly, trying to figure out what she meant by that. What conditions had Zeronia expected of her? What was it she couldn’t do?

‘What-‘

‘She wanted me to kill you.’ Luka’s hand clenched underneath mine, but I didn’t let go. Her voice was strained, as though she was holding back a torrent of emotions that I was sure she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

‘But you didn’t,’ I said. She tried to pull her hand away, but my grip tightened and I wouldn’t, couldn’t let her go. If I did, she might never come back.

‘I did not,’ she whispered.

‘You don’t know how proud I am of you,’ I said, and her gaze snapped back up to meet mine, her mouth slightly open. Her eyes were shining.

‘Proud?’ she asked me, quietly, and I nodded, squeezing her hand.

‘Yes.’

We sat there for a long time, in silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but her face was running through every emotion imaginable. It was strange, seeing her like this.

But it was a moment I would treasure.

And then, the moment had passed, and the façade was back.

‘I…’ she started, but she stopped herself. ‘No, I still cannot say it truthfully.’ I knew what she meant, and I was glad that she finally, finally recognised the weight of what she had to do. I would know if she lied. ‘But I promise you Miku, one day I will say it, and I will mean it.’

I nodded, and we both got up simultaneously, walking back to the inn hand in hand.

 


	15. Chapter 15

As we walked closer to the inn, I pulled my hand away. Miku let it go with a soft smile, and I knew she understood that this moment was ours alone.

I had resigned myself to the fact that Miku had indeed wormed her way past my defences, that I felt… something for her. Not knowing what that something was had begun to grate on my nerves, but I was not about to sit and cry over it all. The only thing I could do was to continue on like everything was normal, even I had slipped up a little and shown a side of myself I had long forgotten I contained.

Had that part of me been forgotten, or had it simply never been there at all? Now, I was not sure, such a feeling was so foreign to me that I could not fathom if I had felt it before. Maybe it was new, as those types of feelings were typically forbidden, at least in the company of my mother and father.

Thinking of them brought up the questions I had buried ever since speaking to Sachiko. That moment of vulnerability had passed, and there was little reason to think of such things now.

Miku opened the door to the inn, and I saw that Kaito was still fast asleep, dozing in his chair by the fire. No one had taken our other seats, perhaps to not disturb him. Miku and I both took our places together beside the magician, and Miku appeared to realise that my thoughts were corroding into my personal space, so she left me well alone by staring into the flames.

I took up a similar position, trying to once more put thoughts back in their rightful place, but that was easier said than done. This was ridiculous. I, a grown woman, should have been able to leave those unearthed thoughts behind, but they were proving to be difficult.

What would I do when I came face to face with my parents once more? I had searched for them, sought their approval even after over one hundred years of separation. But they had refused to be found, simply vanished into thin air.

I had not been the one to initiate the separation. It had been a trial, to see how I would fare completely by myself, with no familial support. I had taken to the task with a burning passion that I had not ever felt again, not even as ruler of Nuriel. I would show them, I had thought, show them I did not need their guidance any longer. And I did not. I had been completely successful, and I had searched for them, thinking my task was complete.

But they had not shown themselves to me.

So why was it, even after all these years, I felt that the task at hand was insurmountable? Now, with Miku and Kaito by my side, it would bring some fresh eyes to the search. I was certain I could find them, using those two. And then all I had to do was defeat them, take the powers back that were rightfully mine, and that would be that. Again, easier said than done, but I was certain that I could do it, wasn’t I?

I groaned, resisting the urge to rub my head with my hands. Foolish woman. I shouldn’t have had to think about that at all. My goals should have been clear – they were clear, if only I could just reach past the uncertainty which clouded my view.

Why this uncertainty, then? Maybe, even after all this time, there was some vestige of… something for my parents. I had yearned for their approval, yes, but was there something else? I knew of the word that refused to come to my tongue.

_Love._ Ha! My parents would have killed me on the spot for uttering such nonsense. But if not… that, then what was it that was stopping me?

‘Luka?’ Miku asked, obviously unable to keep quiet for such an extended period of time. ‘Are you alright?’

I glared at her, but she didn’t quail under my gaze, merely staring straight back with a concerned look on her face. Resisting the urge to snap at her, I simply nodded, but her expression did not waver.

‘I am fine. Stop pestering me,’ I said. She rolled her eyes, but sank back in her chair.

‘Whatever you say,’ she said. ‘Hey, when do you reckon Kaito is going to get his powers back?’

‘The amount he used, it will most likely be a couple of days at the very least. He also needs to feed.’

Miku nodded, and I was surprised she didn’t make a face at the idea. Then again, she had said to us both that our vampirism would not change her feelings for us. Foolish woman.

Looking back at our conversation when we had been trapped in Meiko’s castle, I realised Miku still did not know of my plan to defeat my parents. She only knew that I was a vampire, yet knew nothing else about me or my heritage. I decided to keep it from her along with my status as ruler of Nuriel. It would be for the best if she never found out. At least ntil the last few moments, after all.

What would I do with her when all this was over? When Gumi was defeated, when I had taken my rightful place on my throne? Kaito was powerful and had true potential as a magician, he could easily be kept on as a mercenary of some sort when I had my vampiric powers back.

Miku was strong, but I knew soldiers that were stronger. Given her short stature, and that ridiculous greatsword she carried, she also held potential. But I would have to find someone better suited to be my personal guard. It also did not feel right to use her as a simple servant, either.

So what would she be to me? I did not trust her, no… but there was something there.

I just wished I knew what that something was.

‘I’m going to head up to bed. Look after Kaito, will you?’ Miku said, patting the magicians head softly as she passed him by. I gave her a distracted nod, and she returned it in kind before heading up the stairs to our bedroom. There was still not an empty room to be had at the inn, so she and I were sharing once again.

Once Kaito had awakened, I wasn’t sure what I would do. He had probably figured I had told Miku the whole truth, since he had heard about what I needed to do to my parents. Hopefully, he would not let the lie slip.

He stirred in his chair, and then his eyes fluttered open.

‘How long was I out for?’ he muttered, voice still thick from sleep.

‘Not long,’ I said, and he nodded, pulling himself up from his slumped position on the chair.

‘You don’t know how hungry I am,’ he said after looking around, probably checking as to whether Miku was still there.

‘I am sure I can imagine.’

‘I’ll have to go out,’ he said, gazing at me.

‘You look at me as though I have an answer,’ I said, and he raised an eyebrow at me. It was true, in the days before my rule of Nuriel, I had to go out and hunt like any other vampire. I had had to teach myself how to sneak about somehow, and I was already powerful, as my parents had been before me. ‘Fine. I will take you out,’ I finished, speaking as though it were some great favour. It was, really. I could be cosy in bed, but here I was, looking after this fledgling. A powerful fledgling, yes, but a fledgling nonetheless.

‘Thank you,’ Kaito said.

‘We’ll have to wait until the early hours,’ I said. ‘For now, rest some more. You will need the energy,’ Then a strange thought occurred to me. ‘Are you not going to feel… unsavoury, doing something like this?’

Kaito paused for a moment, mulling over his words. Then a recognisable, predatory gleam came to his eyes.

‘Don’t you dare repeat this to Miku, but I’m rather looking forward to it.’

I smirked, and with that, the two of us settled back into our chairs, and waited.

* * *

 

The city was dark, only lit by the small lanterns in spaced intervals. The dark wood made the place have a foreboding air, and the masked guards patrolling up and down the narrow streets did not help the image. With a little guidance from myself, Kaito and I slipped by unnoticed.

‘Where are you thinking of going?’ Kaito whispered. Without turning around, I answered him in kind.

‘You’ll see.’

I knew cities usually had districts, and I was planning on finding the richest one, with the exception of the Earl’s lands. That would have far too much security to bother with. The richer the person was, the better food they ate, and the better they tasted. Bandits were all well and good, but a rich noble? It was like they were born to be served to me.

Kaito had been sired by Meiko, so he already had some innate sneaking ability, but they were not honed like mine were. I had had decades of experience before my rule, and it was excellent to finally put them to use.

Having cattle in my castle like Meiko had done was useful, as I did not need to concern myself with the common rabble, but I had missed the hunt. Vampires belonged in the shadows, and I was proud enough of my heritage to embrace that fact. I would never turn my back on the gift my parents had granted me when they had decided to have a child together.

I motioned Kaito to stop and move back into one of the many winding alleyways Ravenwood had as a guard moved past, oblivious to our presence. It was only a little closer now, the houses ahead were getting more and more luxurious as the street stretched onwards.

Once we reached a particularly grandiose house, of course, with its lanterns put out for that night – foolish humans – I was able to guide Kaito to the back entrance. We climbed over the small fence with ease, and I stopped at the back door. Bending down, I pulled out a lockpick from my boot – an unwelcome reminder of the days I had spent grovelling as a bandit in that blasted cave – and began to work on the door. As always with residential homes like these, the lock was simple, not much thought had been put into the design, and it was easy to pick.

I pushed open the door, careful not to make it creak, and motioned for Kaito to follow me inside.

Crouching low, I waited for the moment my eyes adjusted to the darkness that swamped the building. Was it just me, or did every house in this damnable city have a cloying air? And this time, hopefully it was not because there was a secret cult hidden beneath the surface.

As we passed an end table with a intricately designed vase perched precariously atop it, I thought about the old days when I had done my fair share of thievery. The vase itself would have been far too cumbersome, but there was sure to be a safe somewhere in the house that would be full of treasures. If I had a pouch of some kind, and Miku hadn’t had all the gold from the bandits that she’d slaughtered, then I would have searched for it. Kaito might not have been best pleased to be stealing, however. But since some of the traits of the sire got passed down to who they had turned, he might have actually been willing. Meiko had always been greedy, after all.

Instead of hunting for the safe, I guided Kaito up the stairs. He was surprisingly quiet, always following the path I had set him. He had potential as a magician, yes, but his potential as a vampire had been untapped. It was interesting to know that his future as one of my mercenaries was so bright.

We reached the landing, and there were multiple doors branching off into different rooms. My second guess was correct, and we entered the master bedroom.

‘Drain them,’ I whispered fiercely, and Kaito looked torn for a moment before his vampiric side took over. His eyes flashed with the tell-tale signs of bloodlust, and we both crept to opposite sides of the bed.

We pounced.

Covering the mouth of my victim with a strong arm, I bit into the side of his neck and felt the sensation of calming the ever-hungry vampire inside of me. Blood poured into my mouth, and I swallowed it greedily.

By this point the man was too weak to scream, and he flapped uselessly against the mattress as I fed.

This was it, that feeling of pure bliss that every vampire longed to last forever, no matter whether they were a master or a fledgling. But it was fleeting, and we would all chase it no matter what it led us to do.

Once completely drained, I pulled myself away from his neck and wiped the remains away from my mouth.

Kaito tore himself away from his victim. I had been so engrossed in my own feeding that I hadn’t heard anything from Kaito’s human, but when I asked, he assured me he had been kept quiet.

‘Good,’ I said. The feeling had flitted far away now, and it was back to business as usual. ‘It would not do us any good for the guards to hear.’

‘Won’t they find them? What will we do then?’ He was looking down at the bodies, and he looked a little pale. Now that the hunger and bloodlust had passed him by, the Kaito Miku knew best had come scurrying back, and he was most likely feeling a ill at ease. I did not hold any sympathy for him.

‘We will the city tomorrow. They will probably not be discovered until a few days have gone past, anyway. No one else lives here, after all.’ Kaito nodded, putting a hand to his mouth, and was seemingly surprised that it came away bloody. ‘Clean yourself up. We must get back to the inn.’

Kaito wiped away the blood, and we sneaked back out of the house the same way we had come in.

It was a short trip back to the inn. Most of the guards, late as it was into the night, were back inside the barracks, sound asleep. Once inside, Kaito went back into his room in silence, and I went to the bedroom where Miku was. She looked to be fast asleep as I entered.

I was still a little wary of sharing my bed with another, but it was less uncomfortable than last time. It was yet another sign that Miku had triggered something in me that I did not yet understand. At this point, I was not sure I ever would, the feeling was so foreign to me.

As I got changed, I heard a quiet whimper from behind me. I looked over to the bed and saw that Miku had obviously been tossing and turning all night, her hair was sprawled all over the pillows. Yet another nightmare, then.

I perched on the end of the bed and gave her a shake, and her eyes fluttered open immediately this time. She turned over and… was she crying?

‘Luka…’ Her voice was rough from sleep, and possibly from screaming in her nightmare. ‘I’m sorry…’

I paused, uncertain what to say to her. An image came about of a little girl staring out the window into the daylight, the sun shining on her tear-stained cheeks. She was completely alone. My hands clenched, bunching the bedcovers.

‘There is nothing to be sorry for,’ I said quietly, and her eyes widened for a fraction of a second. ‘What? Am I not allowed to give…’ I could not say it, but Miku seemed to understand what I had meant to say. She put a hand on my own, and I felt that familiar freezing sensation run through my body, but this time it was only for a moment.

‘I think it’s best if we both go back to sleep,’ Miku said, brushing her hair off my pillow. She lay back in the bed, but she did not let go of my hand. I tried to tug it away, but she only held on that much more. ‘Nope. Not getting away this time,’ she said with a grin. I rolled my eyes, but stopped trying to pull my hand away. Damn woman.

I lay back, closing my eyes. Eventually, I heard Miku’s breathing even out, deep in sleep. I gently eased my hand away from hers, but she moaned, rolling over towards my side of the bed until one of her hands came to rest on my arm. Then she settled, unmoving apart from the rise and fall of her chest.

I sighed quietly, resigning myself to a night of unwanted contact. But, if it made Miku not have nightmares, then it would do wonders for my own rest and leave it uninterrupted.

Where had that memory come from earlier? That place had been locked away long ago, so why were those images leaking out now, of all times? I rubbed my face with my free arm, but sleep quickly began to draw on me, and I was left drifting away into a troubled night’s rest.

 


End file.
